Is Online Ed Key To Equity In Education?
In a rural state such as Idaho, access to high quality teachers and resources becomes a barrier for many of Idaho’s students. There are certainly great teachers spread across the…
Will ID’s New Med School Fill Physician Demand?
Did you know that Idaho ranks 50th nationwide in terms of family doctors per capita? Idaho’s first medical school is planned to open this year. Just in time, as across…
Idaho Offers Incentives To Companies Looking To Operate In ID
Idaho lawmakers have created tax incentives to attract new companies to move to Idaho. This has worked in successfully attracting some companies to move their operations to our great state.…
Did You Know Idaho Has a Higher Education Task Force?
Did you know that Idaho has a Higher Education Task Force? It is the responsibility of this task force to analyze education in the state of Idaho and make recommendations…
Less Than 1/2 Of Idahoans Have Some College Experience
33% of Idahoans are college graduates, 46% of Idahoans have some college experience. Learning can happen outside of the classroom, and being dedicated to a lifetime of learning does not…
7% Of Idahoans Think The School System Is In Good Shape
Survey results show a scant 7% of Idahoans believe “the state’s public school system is in very good shape and needs little change.” 62% of Idaho parents said they would…
We Can Do Better Than 50th
Idaho is a majestically beautiful state. It is abundant in natural treasure - impressive mountain views, pristine lakes and wild rivers, lush green forests, alluring high deserts, and deep and…
A Better Economy Starts With Early Ed
Does early education build a stronger economy? Could that be measured or even quantified? A study done on the Perry Preschool program over several decades showed that students who attended…
How Do We Keep The Most Sought After Jobs In Our State?
Idaho’s ranks 44th for retaining adults born in the state, according to the Pew Research Center. 48th in education. 50th in average weekly wage. 44th in retaining Idahoans. Seeing a…
Idaho Grads Earn Less
Did you know that Idaho “ranks second to last in the nation in per capita income, and leads in percentage of minimum wage workers in its workforce?” Knowing that there…
Career Skills: The Key To A Healthy Economy
How can Idaho keep the best jobs in state, if we don't have the qualified employees here to fill them? When Idaho schools don’t produce enough highly skilled employees, our…
Education Can Create Opportunity For Idaho
When you envision creating a future for your children, and your children’s children, what do you see? Are they able to find fulfilling work? Do they have the choice to…
Power To The Teachers
Teachers deserve our appreciation for their commitment to educating the next generation of Idahoans. It is a job with massive responsibility. It isn’t an easy job when there are numerous…
School Boards: Do You Vote?
Did you vote in the last school board election? Your local school board member has a direct impact on the education of your student. This impact is greater than you…
How Would You Grade Idaho Schools?
What grade would you give your local school? A, B, C, D, F? What grade would you give all Idaho schools? A, B, C, D, F? What constitutes a grade?…
What Is The Purpose Of Public Education In Idaho?
Do you have a list of criteria of what you expect from public education? Of course there are legal expectations for the education system determined by the state, but what…
Accountability for Idaho Education
The news across the state of Idaho in 2017 was often disappointing. District leadership lied about teacher evaluations. (Source) Nearly $100 million dollars were spent to achieve Idaho’s 60% go-on…
Knowledge Is Money
What difference does continuing your education after high school make? A study done by the Hamilton Project broke down median lifetime earnings by each college major. The study showed that…
Are All Good Jobs Going To College Grads?
A recent study by Georgetown University looked at jobs created after the recession and defined “good jobs”, as jobs that provide benefits, insurance, and retirement plans. According to the study,…
How to measure a teacher? Look at the students.
Should measuring teacher effectiveness be based on student growth? Idahoans believe that good teachers matter when it comes to student learning. According to a statewide survey, 66% of Idahoans think…
The Key to Opportunity: Education
The Declaration of Independence states: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that…
Tech Skills Or Bust
We live in a fast-paced, exciting time. In the past fifteen years, we’ve been witness to a technological revolution. New disruptive companies and technologies have changed our lives. The future…
Can A Robot Do Your Job?
You don’t have to look far to see that many people are concerned about how automation and the rise of artificial intelligence may result in the displacement of people from…
Paging All Doctors
Last year, Occupational Therapists, Physicians and Surgeons, and Physical Therapists had the highest job vacancy rate across the state of Idaho. That means that across the state, there were over…
Skilled Workers Needed
Everyone has an opinion on whether you need to go on after high school to make it in this world. The financial and time cost of continuing education can be…
Is Idaho’s population slipping into poverty?
Is Idaho’s population slipping into poverty? There is a nearly $10,000 difference between the annual sum of the average weekly wage in Idaho, and what may be a livable wage…
What’s the Price of Academic Failure?
Employers are complaining about being unable to fill the jobs they need to make their businesses, organizations, and programs run successfully. This is especially relevant with technology skills, as we…
More Skills = More Money
The low average weekly wage of Idahoans is not a livable wage for most families in the state. While many advocate that a raise in the minimum wage would solve…
Idaho ranks 48th and 50th
If you don’t know by now, Idaho’s K-12 education system ranks 48th among 50 states and the District of Columbia. And Idaho also ranks 50th in average weekly wages. There…
How Can We Strengthen the Path from Public Schools to Idaho’s Businesses?
Idaho business leaders don’t want to have to look out of state for suitable candidates for employment. But can we blame those businesses if they find better-qualified candidates by going…
THOUGHT STARTER: ARE STUDENTS THE PRIMARY FOCUS OF PUBLIC EDUCATION IN IDAHO?
Education Week recently posted a blog with the title: “Some Things You Can Do to Support Public Education Now.” The author, Dave Powell, listed several ways we can all get involved…
THOUGHT STARTER: ARE CIVICS LESSONS NECESSARY?
Beginning with this school year, Idaho students are required to take the United States Citizenship Test. The test may be taken at any time after enrolling in the seventh grade…
Thought Starter: What’s better: Acing That Test or Winning That Game?
Do American students place too high a value on individual success in sports – and not enough on education? The answer is yes, if you ask foreign-exchange students. A recent…
THOUGHT STARTER: SHOULD RURAL COMMUNITIES SHARE RESOURCES?
Idaho state superintendent Sherri Ybarra has tried to pass a rural school bill for two years in a row. The idea behind the bill? To help rural districts share teachers…
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF PUBLIC SCHOOLING?
Webster’s defines a public school in the U.S. as “an elementary or secondary school that is part of a system of free schools maintained by public taxes and supervised by…
THOUGHT STARTER: ARE IDAHO’S THIRD-GRADERS ON A PATH TO SUCCESS?
Most third-graders don’t know it, but many educators feel they are at a pivotal point in their education. Multiple studies have shown the importance of third-graders reading at their grade…
IS THE TEAM CONCEPT A WINNING STRATEGY FOR TEACHERS?
Winning sports teams often talk about how team chemistry contributes to their success. Many schools are finding that teams of teachers can lead to a healthier, more productive learning environment.…
THOUGHT STARTER: IS IT TIME TO THINK OUTSIDE (OF THE CLASSROOM)?
If you’re an adult, you probably remember sitting in class and staring out the window while your teacher’s voice faded into the background of your mind. If you’re a student,…
ARE STUDENTS FIT ENOUGH TO LEARN?
More and more research confirms that physical activity can have a positive influence on a child’s academic performance. One study summed up its findings with this assertion: “Children who are…
THOUGHT STARTER: WHAT DIRECTION WOULD TEACHER-POWERED SCHOOLS TAKE?
A Teacher-Powered Schools National Conference was recently conducted in Los Angeles. The conference addressed some intriguing ideas and questions. One principal asked: “Would teachers rather be tired from fighting the…
THOUGHT STARTER: AFTER HIGH SCHOOL, SHOULD COLLEGE BE THE ONLY PATH?
Idaho Education News recently published an article about a few of the success stories at Dennis Technical Education Center in Boise. Students are focusing on specific paths they hope to take after…
THOUGHT STARTER: WHAT ROLE DO BUS DRIVERS PLAY IN OUR CHILDREN’S EDUCATION?
Every day, thousands and thousands of Idaho students board a bus for school. At the end of the day, they get back on the bus and return home. Most of…
THOUGHT STARTER: IS STUDENT NUTRITION GETTING THE ATTENTION IT DESERVES?
Nutrition isn’t always on the top of the list when people discuss ways to improve education. But it’s an important factor. Research has shown: • Nutrition affects students’ thinking skills,…
SHOULD WE MAKE STUDENT VOICE A CHOICE?
Clark Fork High in northern Idaho is a small school with a little more than 100 students. But this small school had a big idea and is running with it…
SIGN OF THE TIMES – FAKE NEWS OR REAL NEWS?
Fake news. The term seems to be everywhere these days. What is fake news? Fake news refers to false information or propaganda published under the guise of being authentic news. …
WHAT IF THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION WENT AWAY?
Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie recently introduced a one-sentence bill that called for the abolishment of the United States Department of Education on Dec. 31, 2018. The bill had seven co-sponsors,…
THOUGHT STARTER: FOUR-DAY SCHOOL WEEKS: WHAT ABOUT THAT FIFTH DAY?
In recent years, 43 out of 161 school districts and public charter school have adopted the four-day model. There are pros and cons to be debated about a four-day school…
THOUGHT STARTER: IDAHO NEEDS MORE TEACHERS
The chief policy officer for Idaho’s State Department of Education recently broke down some numbers with senators. A couple eye-opening facts from the report: Eighty-seven superintendents provided the SDE with…
THOUGHT STARTER: IDAHO ONE OF FIVE STATES THAT DIDN’T PROVIDE PRE-K FUNDING IN 2015-16
According to the Education Commission of the States, 32 states and the District of Columbia raised their funding levels in the 2015-16 budget year. On the contrary, five states did…
THOUGHT STARTER: ARE IDAHO TEACHER EVALUATIONS SIMPLY A COMPLIANCE MEASURE?
Teachers in Idaho can earn an evaluation score of “effective” no matter how their students score on learning growth measures. What does “effective” really mean? If the bottom line in…
SHOULD IDAHO ELIMINATE LEVIES RELATED TO LOCAL EDUCATION?
Idahoans from Kuna to Coeur d’Alene, from Boise to American Falls, will make some tough choices as they vote on assorted bond issues and levies on March 14. In order…
THOUGHT STARTER: DID YOU KNOW? IDAHO COULD SPEND $1.69B ON EDUCATION IN 2017
Sherri Ybarra, Idaho Superintendent of Public Schools recently asked lawmakers to increase school funding by $105.6 million next year. That’s a 6.7 percent increase. With that increase, Idaho’s total general…
THOUGHT STARTER: IS THERE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR IDAHO EDUCATORS TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF ONLINE EDUCATION?
The governor of Virginia has proposed that all K-12 schools in his state offer students the option of a full-time virtual education. This bold idea raises the question: Could we…
HOW CAN IDAHO PRINCIPALS PREPARE FOR THE JOB?
Taking on the role of a principal can be a daunting task. Is Idaho doing all it should before principals step into their offices for the first time? We all…
THOUGHT STARTER: COMMON CORE FOES, IS IT ABOUT STANDARDIZATION?
Opponents of Common Core recently held an event to protest Common Core at the Idaho Statehouse. Protestors demanded a return to local control of education, and to enable teachers to…
DO CHARTER SCHOOLS ADD VALUE IN RURAL IDAHO?
School choice continues to gain traction in Idaho and across the U.S. The National School Choice Week website estimated that more than 125 events would take place in Idaho during…
THOUGHT STARTER: HAS K-12 EDUCATION IMPROVED IN THE PAST YEAR?
Boise State University released its second annual public policy survey on January 13. Respondents said they saw some improvement over the past year when it comes to the quality of our K-12…
THOUGHT STARTER: DOES IDAHO HAVE A SCHOOL LEADERSHIP ISSUE?
Idaho Governor Butch Otter laid out his goals for 2017 at his annual State of the State address on January 9. “I’m also calling for an ongoing investment of $2.5…
IS IDAHO FALLS A HUB OF LEARNING INNOVATION?
Schools are branching out and taking chances on new ways of reaching students and deserve kudos for not doing things the same old way. Sunnyside Elementary in Idaho Falls seems…
CAN WE DO MORE?
When we introduced the Don’t Fail Idaho campaign four years ago, it was in effort to make education the number one priority in the state of Idaho. It was to…
IT’S TIME TO REEVALUATE TEACHER EVALUATIONS
The past month has revealed a teacher evaluation system in Idaho that is severely flawed. Let’s hope we can all agree on a path to fixing it – in a…
IDAHO CAN’T DELAY DISCUSSION ON SCHOOL CHOICE FUNDING.
The issue of school choice is becoming a hot national topic. Shouldn’t it also be a topic Idaho is addressing from this day forward? The subject of school choice is…
IDAHO GRADES IN AT D+
Idaho’s education system has been handed another report card. Once again, the results are hard to swallow. Education Week recently released its 21st annual edition of Quality Counts, which grades…