In The News

Second Round of Competition Begins for Federal Charter School Program Grant Funds

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Press Release, 8-29-19 Five Idaho public charter schools earned $800,000 each in federal grant support this past March. Idaho’s Communities of Excellence grant program is aimed at increasing the number of new, high-quality charter school seats across the Gem State. The second round of grant competition opens on September 4th. Grants are available for the startup, replication, or expansion of…

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New Charter School Opens Doors Boasting a Classical Education for K-6

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by Nik Streng, The Argus Observer FRUITLAND — For the first time in more than 30 years, the Olde School in Fruitland will have students in the classrooms, as the Treasure Valley Classical Academy was set to open its doors this morning for the first day of school. The academy is a charter school in Fruitland, which will house kindergarten…

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New Compass Charter School Building Opens in Meridian

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by Alx Stevens, Meridian Press Students, parents and staff of Compass Charter School started the school year with a ribbon cutting for its new building. “I love it,” parent Brenda Hansen said at the Aug. 13 ceremony, a day before the start of school. Hansen has four children who will have classes in the new building. “All of them are…

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Remote Mountain Town Rallies Around New Charter School

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by Devin Bodkin, Idaho Ed News ISLAND PARK — The shriek of a circular saw rang through the woods that surround the old Star Lite Motel near Mack’s Inn Resort in Island Park. Cutting and cobbling strips of vinyl flooring is one renovation toward transforming the bygone eight-room motel into the remote mountain town’s sole public school. “People here have…

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Meeting the Potential of a Virtual Education

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Lessons From Operators Making Online Schooling Work When the first virtual school began more than 20 years ago, it offered an incredible promise: Suddenly, students could get access to a great education and a diversity of courses regardless of place or time. They could have flexibility to “attend” school around medical appointments, sports practices, or whatever else life threw at…

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The Power of Place: New School Fellows Create McCall Community School

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Our Idaho New School Fellows are a growing and varied group of individuals who are creating innovative schools to prepare students to thrive in our rapidly-changing world. Meet Dr. Jenny Schon and Patrick Berg; two veteran educators who share a vision of a personalized, community-centered school that reflects the values of their rural Idaho town. McCall is a small mountain…

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$4 Million in Federal Funds Awarded to Five Idaho Public Charter Schools

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Press Release Five Idaho public charter schools have been awarded $800,000 each in federal funds in a first round of funding aimed at increasing the number of new, high-quality charter school seats for the Idaho students who need them most. The grants will allow the five schools to add a total of 2,484 new seats in schools for students from…

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The ABCs of Idaho Education Building Funding

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by Sharon Fisher, Idaho Business Review Constructing education buildings can be challenging enough, but funding them in Idaho can be even more difficult. While there are several methods districts can consider, none of them is particularly easy. Impact fees It might seem logical to have a developer contribute to the cost of constructing a new public school building. After all,…

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Idaho Policy Institute Awarded Contract to Evaluate Public Charter Schools

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by Cienna Madrid Boise State University’s Idaho Policy Institute (IPI), housed within the School of Public Service, was awarded $212,229 to serve as an independent, third-party evaluator for the Idaho Communities of Excellence program, a charter school education organization funded by a federal charter schools program grant. The five-year grant was awarded by Bluum, a non-profit organization committed to expanding…

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School Funding Formula Hijinks

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By Terry Ryan, originally posted on IdahoEdNews.org The Idaho Public School Funding Formula Committee (a group of state lawmakers, policy makers and education leaders) has spent the last three years convening multiple hearings in Boise and across the state to learn from Idaho educators, school board members, citizens, taxpayers, parents and outside experts what is working and what isn’t working…

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