Bluum is a nonprofit organization helping Idaho become a national model for how to maximize learning outcomes for children and families.
Imagine a federal program where 90 cents of every dollar goes to an activity that actually works for families and children. This is what Idaho’s use of federal start-up dollars for public charter schools has achieved over the last decade.
The Building Hope Annual Report has just been released and it makes for interesting reading for those who are interested in the challenges facing charters public schools as they open new facilities.
The Treasure Valley is one of the country’s fastest-growing regions. Those of us who live here see evidence of this in new construction, traffic jams and long lines at our favorite grocery stores and coffee shops.
A new study that focuses on K-12 students says the school-age population in the Treasure Valley has increased by nearly 40 percent since 2000.
Parents across the country like charter public schools, and want more of them. The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools released a national survey of parents last week that shows “78 percent of parents support having a charter public school in their neighborhood and 73 percent support more charter schools opening nationwide.” Further, “an equal number of parents support the idea of allowing parents to choose their child’s public school, regardless of where they live.”
It’s early Saturday morning. I’m sitting next to a friend of mine who invited me to volunteer at a leadership conference organized by the Caldwell School District’s Migrant Education Program. It is definitely a family affair, preschool-aged children fidget in between classroom tables and teens sit next to adults as they wait for day’s agenda.
The idea behind the bill is to allow the professionals who work closest with Idaho’s children to define how they view success for students and to allow them to create the environment to achieve that.
