Jennifer Swindell

Managing editor and CEO Jennifer Swindell founded Idaho Education News in 2013. She has led the online news platform as it has grown in readership and engagement every year, reaching over two million pageviews a year. Jennifer has more than 35 years of experience in Idaho journalism. She also has served as a public information officer for Idaho schools and as a communication director at Boise State University. She can be reached at [email protected].

Public Schools Education Budget

$2.0 billion tax dollars devoted to public education in Idaho for the 2019-20 school year. This graphic breaks out how the money is allocated to districts and charters.

Average Superintendent Salary

This amount is calculated by averaging the salaries of all full-time superintendents from the 2018-19 school year. [numbers_source file=”http://www.idahoednews.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Supt.-Salaries_2017-2018_Numbers.xlsx” link_text=”2017-2018 Superintendent Salaries”]

Students in Idaho

This is the approximate number of students attending Idaho public schools during the 2018-19 school year. The number includes students in charter and traditional public schools. [numbers_source file=”http://www.idahoednews.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Enrollments-Fiscal-17-18_Numbers.xlsx” link_text=”Enrollment Summary”]

State Graduation Rate

This percentage is calculated from the number of students who started high school and graduated in four years in May of 2018.

Daily Attendance

This is the total average daily attendance of students from across the state. About 17,000 students are absent each day. [numbers_source file=”http://www.idahoednews.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Attendance-Fiscal-17-18_Numbers.xlsx” link_text=”Attendance Summary”]

Smallest School District in Idaho

Prairie Elementary District is Idaho’s smallest with one teacher and two students in grades K-8 for the 2018-19 school year. [numbers_source file=”http://www.idahoednews.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Enrollments-Fiscal-17-18_Numbers.xlsx” link_text=”Enrollment Summary”]

Per Pupil Expenditure

This is the average amount of money school districts and charters spend per student per school year. This calculation uses federal, state and local dollars. [numbers_source file=”http://www.idahoednews.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Per-Pupil-Expenditures_2017-2018-Update.xlsx” link_text=”2017-2018 Per Pupil Expenditures”]

Largest School District in Idaho

The West Ada School District is Idaho’s largest with 39,339 students. [numbers_source file=”http://www.idahoednews.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Enrollments-Fiscal-17-18_Numbers.xlsx” link_text=”Enrollment Summary”]

State Graduation Breakdown

This graphic illustrates the breakdown of Idaho’s graduation rates from the 2017-2018 school year. [numbers_source file=”http://www.idahoednews.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Graduation-Rates-2016_Numbers.xlsx” link_text=”2016 Graduation Rate”]

Highest SAT Scores

The SAT scores shown are the highest composite scores in Idaho, based on the Evidence Based Reading and Writing, and Math sections of the SAT. About 22,000 juniors across Idaho take the SAT college entrance exam. The Legislature provides more than $1 million for students to take the SAT.