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Bluum is a nonprofit organization helping Idaho become a national model for how to maximize learning outcomes for children and families.

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Elevate Academy’s Rosamaria Villaseñor is Selected as a 2023-2024 Rising Leader

Rosamaria Villaseñor, a sophomore at Elevate Academy in Caldwell, has been selected from a competitive pool of over 100 applicants from public charter schools nationwide to join the 2023-2024 class of Rising Leaders. She shares, “I am really nervous to do something like this since I’ve never done anything like it before. But I’m really looking forward to meeting other students from across the nation and getting to work with them”. Rosamaria is the first Idaho student to receive this honor.

Introducing Bluum’s 2023 Idaho New School Fellow

Dr. Jacob Francom is a first-rate educator from Montana who will serve as the founding principal of the North Idaho Classical Academy (NICA) in Bonners Ferry. The school is expected to open in 2025. NICA is part of the American Classical Schools-Idaho (ACS-I) network, aligned with Hillsdale College’s Barney Charter School Initiative (BCSI). NICA, at full-enrollment, will serve 360 K-12 Idaho students.

22-23 Special Education Leadership Fellowship: Emily Boles

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!

Listen to Your Teacher: Analysis of Teachers Sentiments

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.

Promise Academy Public Charter School Opens at Idaho Youth Ranch’s Residential Center

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.

22-23 Special Education Leadership Fellowship: Danielle Frederick

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.

Bluum’s Inaugural Paraprofessional Training Summit

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.