Bluum is a nonprofit organization helping Idaho become a national model for how to maximize learning outcomes for children and families.
I work for the Sage International Network of Schools – Boise and Middleton and I’m the special education director and federal programs coordinator. I cover IEP meetings when building admin can’t, manage all kinds of compliance and fiscal reporting, consult with teachers and our school psychologist, troubleshoot EDPlan…lots of variability every day!
The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools recently unveiled a new report based in a nationwide survey by The Harris Poll titled Listen to Your Teacher: An Analysis of Teacher Sentiment on the State of Public Education. The survey, encompassing over 1,200 public school teachers from district and charter schools, explores teacher experiences and challenges. It also examined teachers’ motivations for entering, staying in, or leaving the classroom. Findings throughout showed charter teachers having higher rates of overall satisfaction and gratification in the field.
In 2018, the U.S. Department of Education awarded Idaho’s Communities of Excellence (COE) consortium a $17.1 million Charter Schools Program (CSP) grant. The amount of the award increased to $22.5 million in 2019. Grant funds will be distributed over five years with the intent to achieve Idaho’s COE objectives.
By Sarah Meskin
The Idaho Youth Ranch has officially brought its latest project to life: The Residential Center for Healing and Resilience. Within this 24/7 Residential Center is Promise Academy, a year-round public charter school. My organization, Bluum, provided federal Charter School Program (CSP) grant support and technical assistance to the school and its authorizer the Middleton School District.
Treasure Valley Classical Academy has been my home for the last 4 years and I am forever grateful for the opportunity to be part of their opening in 2019 and the continual expansion. Our focus is on providing a wonderfully rich, classical education with a huge emphasis on developing future citizens who show great virtue and can see the beauty in the world around them. My role in the school started out in a Kindergarten classroom where every day was filled with wonder and aha moments with the curriculum.
By Sarah Meskin
One of the central themes during the summit revolved around fostering inclusion and emphasizing how important it is that students of all abilities have the same access to resources and opportunities. By providing students equal access, they are able to thrive in specific learning environments for a variety of reasons, whether that be language based, having extra help if needed, feeling emotionally safe or simply having their progress tracked and sent to parents.
By Darren Svan, Idaho Ed News
The 64-student Promise Academy school will be located on the campus of the Idaho Youth Ranch’s (IYR) new Residential Center for Healing and Resilience, a residential treatment facility — which means 24-hour care — for ages 11-17 experiencing severe mental health and behavioral issues.
The fastest-growing student demographic in Idaho is Hispanic students. Through our new study, Here to Stay, we sought to learn more about the experiences of Idaho’s Hispanic parents around their education hopes, concerns, and opportunities. We are hopeful the findings from this research study can help Idaho’s leaders better design policies in each of these areas.