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BLUUM

Bluum

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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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Testimony to the Idaho Senate Education Committee

I speak to you today as a sort of metaphorical Ghost of Christmas Past. In 2017, I penned a Guest Column for the Post Register entitled “Idaho needs new school funding formula.” I wrote then, “Idaho’s current K-12 public school funding formula is archaic. It was adopted in 1994, and needs an upgrade to better serve the needs of our students today and into the future. Fortunately, Idaho’s lawmakers understand the challenge and seem poised to make necessary improvements. Their efforts to modernize school funding should be supported and encouraged by parents, taxpayers and everyone interested in the future of Idaho and its children.”

Teach for America’s Impact on Idaho Students Runs Deep

Anyone who follows public education in Idaho closely knows that since arriving here a decade ago, Teach for America (TFA) has had an indelible, positive impact on the state. A broad spectrum of alumni exemplify that impact. Whether they served as one of the 150 TFA corps members for two years in Idaho or served elsewhere and then moved here, many of the 30 or so alumni living in Idaho continue to be deeply involved in charter schools, district schools, and state policymaking. “Teach For America’s goal is to advance opportunities for all students in Idaho, but particularly for students at a disadvantage, so that they can have the futures they want for themselves,” said Tony Ashton, who has been TFA Idaho’s executive director from day one. “By acting as a strategic talent partner and bringing more great leaders into Idaho’s education system, and then supporting their ongoing development, we’re helping to create the conditions for this to be possible.”

Reducing Facilities Costs: How Idaho is Helping Charter Schools Focus Resources on Instruction

We know from conversations with charter school leaders in other states that the facility financing work being done in Idaho is the most innovative charter school facility financing effort in the country. It’s a powerful example of the private/philanthropic sector working with the public sector and the Legislature to finance charter facilities in ways, and at costs, currently not possible in other states. The new report from Bluum and ExcelinEd, Reducing Facility Costs: How Idaho is Helping Charter Schools Focus Resources on Instruction, examines Idaho’s innovative policies and partnerships that have saved over $110 million in facility financing costs for charter schools. These groundbreaking efforts have allowed schools to allocate resources toward hiring an average of 10 additional teachers per school—all without additional taxpayer expense.

Navigating Artificial Intelligence to Improve Teaching and Learning: Early Lessons from Gem Prep Innovation Schools (Idaho)

It should come as no surprise that Gem Prep, the Idaho-based charter school network, has leapt ahead of the pack in its use of artificial intelligence for teacher planning and classroom instruction. Gem Prep, after all, has a strong reputation for being on the cutting edge of education innovation, particularly in the use of technology. It started as a single online school in 2004, and by the fall of 2027 will have expanded to eight in-person campuses as well as the thriving online school and a couple of blended learning pods known as Learning Societies. Gem Prep was also a 2024 Yass Prize semifinalist. But as with any new technology, the charter network has been cautious and thoughtful in its rollout of AI. “You have to balance a new technology and its uses,” said Laurie Wolfe, Gem Prep’s chief academic officer, and an avid user of AI for her own work and life. “There’s always going to be good, and there’s probably always going to be ways to use it for ill.”

Profiles of Service – From the Battlefield to the Schoolhouse

When Bobby Jones retired as a Naval Commander in the fall of 2023 after 26 years of active service, he knew his next step would be to get involved in public education. Among his many duties, he had taught at the Naval Academy in Annapolis. And as he neared retirement in 2021, he was assigned to run the ROTC units at Morehouse College and the Georgia Institute of Technology in his native Georgia. What he saw among the young people, and particularly young men, in his charge, made him determined to stay in education after retirement. “It became very apparent that these kids were completely different than I was at that age. The resiliency was not there. If something was hard, they would literally just quit,” Jones said.

Idaho Education by the Numbers: 2024 Edition

Data in education matters. It can help state leaders make decisions as to what works and what doesn’t in public policy. It can help district and charter network leaders see what’s working in their schools and what might need improvement or replacement. Principals deserve information that helps support students, families, and educators while making informed decisions about how to best utilize resources. Finally, data can help parents and taxpayers better understand what’s happening in their schools and with their children.

Partners for Student Success: Nonprofits Deliver Wins for Federal Charter School Program

One of the most complicated, yet rewarding, projects we run in Idaho is our state’s federal Charter School Program (CSP) grant. From 2018 to 2023, Bluum was responsible for Idaho’s $22 million Communities of Excellence CSP grant, which we described as “a statewide consortium led by Bluum designed to foster the development, expansion, and replication of high-quality charter schools in Idaho.”