Terry Ryan

Idahoans want great schools for all kids and understand there is more work to be done to get there.

But overcoming the challenges of poverty to improve student performance for all students requires doing things differently. A new report highlights ways to reverse the decline of the American family, to reconnect struggling families to jobs that offer middle-class opportunities, and ideas for improving schools and educational opportunities.

School choice holds that some schools may lose market share simply because the product no longer works well for families and students, or that families have identified better options for their children.

Educators across the country are transforming the way education and learning are delivered to rural students and in the process revitalizing their communities. Idaho is well positioned to build on these efforts if it continues to embrace innovative uses of technology and alternative governance structures like chartering.

Changes to state law should make it easier for charter schools to get access to private lending for new school growth, but charters have struggled to serve more students (diverse and otherwise) because they lack the facilities to get it done.

The federal Charter Schools Program is the only federal funding source that supports the opening of new charter schools, and the charter school community is counting on Idaho’s Congressional delegation to support the expansion of charter schools in Idaho.

About one in five Idaho students in elementary school or high school attend a school of their choice—whether it’s a public charter school, a district magnet school, an alternative public school, a private school or a virtual school online.

Give people across the K–12 sector, especially those at the school-level, freedom to try new things.

K-12 students are increasingly coming from homes that are less white, less rural and less wealthy.

Not only are families and students able to choose the schools that work best for them, but kids are accessing individual courses and programs within and beyond the schools that help them maximize their educational potential. It also provides new pathways for increased numbers of students to leave high school ready for college or well-paying jobs.