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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 school leadership.
The Idaho New School Fellowship is a one or two-year program that prepares future leaders to develop and launch an effective, innovative, and financially sustainable public charter school. Bluum has supported 21 fellows since 2016 with funding and access to resources to design, build, and launch high-performing public charter schools in a range of Idaho communities; from Garden City, to Caldwell, to Fruitland, to Kimberly, to Island Park to northern Idaho.
The Fellowship provides:
- Full-time salary, benefits, and other financial support to participate fully in weekly reflection, professional learning, and a number of projects to prepare for the opening of a new charter school;
- Learning the processes and systems necessary to build and launch a successful public charter school in Idaho;
- Access to Bluum’s connections to Idaho and national experts on leadership and charter school development;
- Travel and support for school visits; and
- The opportunity to make a difference for an increasingly diverse group of students in one of America’s fastest growing states.
Last year, Bluum announced three new fellows, Jewels Carpenter, Phil Diplock and Keelie Campbell.
This month, Bluum is excited to welcome two new fellows to the 2021 New School Fellowship Cohort.
Logan Waetje
There is tremendous interest from other Idaho communities in providing a school option modeled on Elevate Academy’s hands-on education, mastery-based Career Tech Education (CTE) model. Educator Logan Waetje will work directly with Elevate Academy’s leadership team and leverage their experience in creating and running a high-performing CTE school to launch a new Elevate Academy location for at-risk students in Idaho Falls. The school plans to open its doors in August 2022.
Waetje is committed bringing his 12 years of education experience to expand learning options for the students of Idaho Falls. He is excited to grow as an educator and leader at Elevate Academy. Get to know Waetje here.
Adam Bruno
Gem Prep’s mission is to “give Idaho scholars the best opportunity to learn, go to college, and to become the best people they can be,” Adam Bruno told Bluum. Gem Prep has several locations throughout the Gem State, including Nampa, Meridian, and Pocatello. Bruno will take the lead of Gem Prep: Twin Falls in August of 2023.
Bruno has served as the Secondary Social Studies teacher at Gem Prep: Nampa for the past two years, and is now excited to continue helping Idaho scholars “become their best selves,” through the Idaho New School Fellowship.
Gem Innovation Schools are some of the top-performing school in Idaho, and they are a wealth of leadership experience. Bruno will spend a few months of his Fellowship at each Gem Prep location in the Treasure Valley, experiencing the unique student demographics at each school, and learning from the individual experience and talents of their leaders.
Get to know Bruno here.
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