In The News

A Gem Prep student

Gem Prep Online Posts Best Reading Scores in the State

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Press Release, 7/7/2021 | Download VIRTUAL SCHOOL RANKS FIRST IN STATE Gem Prep: Online (GPO) students ranked highest in the state on the 2021 Spring Idaho Reading Indicator, outperforming the state average by 30 percentage points. In a year that saw declines in education success across our state and nation, these virtual students thrived. 95% of Gem Prep: Online students…

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Kids run off the school bus at Future Public School

Bridging the COVID-19 Learning Gap

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by Lindsay Trombly “We Want to Support Families”  Compared to last summer, Idaho Arts Charter School summer programming took a different approach. Last year students attended an art-integrated camp, while this year, the focus is on reading and math for grades K-8.   Lauren DeNinno, Vice Principal of the Secondary Campus and Head Administrator of the summer program, said the Nampa-based public charter school wants to help the kids…

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Students listen to their teacher

All-Day Kindergarten Pilot Aims to Demonstrate Its Efficacy

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by Alan Gottlieb When Michelle Ball learned last year that she would receive funding through Bluum from the J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Family Foundation to expand Idaho Falls-based charter school Alturas International Academy’s kindergarten program from half-day to full-day, she was ecstatic.   As a former kindergarten teacher, she knew how big a difference those extra hours could make in the academic and…

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Monica Harshman stands in front of the stove in the Forge Kitchen

What’s Cookin’ in the Forge Kitchen?

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Idaho public charter school serves 4,000 meals a month by Lindsay Trombly Kitchen Manager and mother of three, Monica Harshman, makes the kitchen the “heart of the home” at Forge International School. She ensures students can access nutritious, consistent meals, and reaches families on a deeper level by battling food insecurity. Harshman said Feeding America projects that 1 in 8…

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Adam Bruno

Gem Prep Educator Earns Idaho New School Fellowship to Launch School in Twin Falls

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by Lindsay Trombly  Educator Adam Bruno is not new to Gem Prep’s mission and their commitment to Idaho scholars. He is currently a Secondary Social Studies teacher at Gem Prep: Nampa, and as an Idaho New School Fellow, is working with the Gem Prep leadership team and Bluum to launch a Gem Prep school in Twin Falls in 2023. “Taking…

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Logan Waetje and Adam Bruno

TWO NEW FELLOWS JOIN THE 2021 IDAHO NEW SCHOOL FELLOWSHIP COHORT

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by Kristen McCarver and Lindsay Trombly Bluum’s mission is to create, grow, and support high quality schools across Idaho. Research shows that quality school leadership is one of the primary drivers for improving student achievement. For the past five years, Bluum has offered the Idaho New School Fellowship (INSF) to help elevate top education talent into the ranks of Idaho’s public…

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Logan Waetje

Idaho New School Fellow Will “Elevate” Career-Tech Education in Southeast Idaho

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by Lindsay Trombly Idaho Falls educator Logan Waetje will become the 20th Bluum Idaho New School Fellow when he starts his Fellowship in early July to work with the Elevate Academy team in launching a school in 2023. “I see a school in Idaho Falls that serves the underserved. I’ll bring the energy, and the enthusiasm, the support… I love…

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Students sit at a graduation ceremony wearing their caps and gowns

Resilience: Lessons from 2021 Idaho Graduates

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by Alan Gottlieb A one-word description emerges after speaking with several 2021 Idaho charter high school graduates about the most unusual conclusion to their secondary school careers: resilience. It would be easy for the class of 2021 to feel a collective sense of self-pity. After all, portions of their junior and senior years were disrupted by a global pandemic that…

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Children in a kindergarten class smile at the camera at Gem Prep in Nampa

Free, All-Day Kindergarten Provided to 17 Idaho Schools

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News Coverage: Free all-day kindergarten provided to over 1,000 Idaho kids Idaho foundation funds all-day kindergarten in 17 Idaho schools Press Release, 5/27/2021 | Download The J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Family Foundation is fully funding all-day kindergarten for more than 1,000 students in the Bluum network of public charter and private schools. Students who attend all-day kindergarten have been shown…

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Kurt Kargou

Kurt Kargou Continues His Impact on Schools Through a Financial Leadership

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This content was originally included in Teach For America, Idaho’s newsletter Kurt Kargou was lured to Idaho by a fellow 2013 Teach for America (TFA) Corps member in Houston, Brad Petersen, who moved to the Gem State to open Future Public School, a Garden City-based charter school. After his corps service, Kurt had developed school finance expertise by working in…

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