Bluum is a nonprofit organization helping Idaho become a national model for how to maximize learning outcomes for children and families.
One size does not fit all. Not clothes, not cars, not diets, not housing and, importantly, not schooling. Traditional, or what I will call “legacy” schools and school districts have focused on standardization, uniformity and predictability. Parents and state governments demanded it. It served our nation well for over 100 years. Times have changed, and so must we.
While urban charter schools are achieving impressive gains, can charter schools improve outcomes for rural America? This topic is an important one with more than 11 million students attending rural schools and facing lower college enrollment than their urban peers.
Idaho’s State Board of Education President Don Soltman shared some data on graduation rates that triggered angst among educators and policy leaders. Recent figures from the 2013-14 school year showed Idaho ranked 41st in the nation with a graduation rate of just 77.3 percent. Stoltman presented this information along with especially troubling details that virtual charter schools and alternative schools graduated a drastically lower percentage, 20 percent and 36 percent respectively.
The last 15 years or so has been a busy time for public education in Idaho on at least seven fronts. But what do ordinary Idahoans think about all this?
Gem Prep Charter School is getting ready to open its doors in Nampa this August. The Nampa school district in October unanimously approved the school to be under advisory of the district. Since then, Gem Prep has worked to secure a building and solidify a student population. The building, though, is still being determined.
