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BLUUM

Bluum

Blog

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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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.”

Idaho School Districts Utilize Federal Charter School Program Grants to Serve Students

West Ada, Idaho’s largest public school district with 40,000 students, rarely authorizes charter schools. They recently made an exception for Pathways in Education (PIE), an alternative high school opening next month in Meridian. Pathways has run a successful school in nearby Nampa School District for the last eight years. PIE, West Ada’s third district-authorized charter school recently received a $529,000 grant from Bluum, part of the nonprofit’s federally funded Building on Success charter school program, serves students facing a range of challenges that makes dropping out a likely outcome. The funding for the Bluum program comes from the U.S. Department of Education Charter School Program. Last year, Bluum received a $24.9 million CSP grant. That follows on the $22.5 million grant it received in 2018 and successfully administered over five years.

Becoming a Marine: Learning Experience for Educators

My colleague, Ashley Cotton, and I recently had the privilege of attending a weeklong educator’s workshop hosted by the Marine Corps at the Recruit Depot in San Diego. The workshop was an exclusive opportunity for over 50 selected leaders, coaches, directors, administrators, and educators from across the country to experience firsthand the transformative journey of young civilians into Marines.Throughout the workshop, we received the most current information about Marine Corps training practices, explored different military occupational specialties (MOS), discussed service options, practiced a military lifestyle, and learned about the different educational opportunities available to Marines.

Seeking Balance: Authorizers Work to Adapt to Idaho’s New Public Charter School Law

As the founder and leader of the high-performing Compass Public Charter School in Meridian, Kelly Trudeau sees a lot to like in Idaho’s newly updated public charter school law. In particular, Trudeau is fond of a provision that provides established successful schools like hers with a 12-year charter renewal if Compass demonstrates strong academic performance and solid financial and operational systems. Schools performing at a less optimal level can get a renewal term of six years.“We are performing well as a school and we don’t have any financial issues,” Trudeau said of her 19-year-old K-12 school. “If that’s the case, why should we not be granted some kind of meaningful benefit?”