Idaho EdNews Podcasts

On this week’s podcast, Kevin Richert interviews Tonya Drake, regional vice president and chancellor of WGU’s Washington state campus. They talk about online higher education during the pandemic, and WGU’s new partnership with Idaho.

Less than two weeks into fall semester, Boise State University officials said a surge in coronavirus cases threatened in-person learning and campus events. Classrooms remain open. And Albertsons Stadium remains open to football fans. Where do things stand, going forward? This week on the Kevin Richert Podcast, Boise State University President Marlene Tromp talks about…

This week, Idaho Education Association Executive Director Paul Stark and IEA President Layne McInelly join Kevin Richert for the podcast. They talk about the fall school reopening during the current pandemic surge. They discuss the political pushback over education, and Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin’s education task force. And they talk about Idaho’s $1.4 billion surplus,…

It’s been a full — and unsettling — week of coronavirus headlines. To put the news into perspective, retired St. Luke’s health care system CEO Dr. David Pate (@drpatesblog) returns to the Kevin Richert Podcast this week. He talks about the delta variant, the health risks for kids, the response from school boards — and…

On July 12, with coronavirus infection rates slowing across Idaho, Boise school trustees lifted the district’s mask mandate. Twenty-two days later — and before school could even reopen — trustees reversed course. With case numbers rising, they reinstated the mask mandate on Aug. 3. To discuss this turbulent process, and other issues in the state’s…

Idaho’s charter schools — now at 81 and counting — serve about a tenth of the state’s K-12 students. The debate is not about whether charters are here to stay. It’s now a debate about managing the growth, and serving a diverse student community. Idaho Education News’ Devin Bodkin recently looked at the state of…

The State Board of Education hasn’t exactly had a slow summer. The board has two big issues on its plate: the coronavirus and the delta variant, and its effect on fall classes; and the ongoing assertions of rampant indoctrination in Idaho schools. State Board President Kurt Liebich discusses both topics in this week’s podcast. (A…

The surging coronavirus delta variant casts a long, ominous shadow over the start of the new school year. But what do we know about this new variant — and what’s different about the new phase of the pandemic? To get some answers, Kevin Richert sits down this week with Audrey Dutton of the Idaho Capital…

The Idaho Virtual Academy was providing online education before the pandemic, serving some 1,700 K-12 students pre-pandemic. By fall 2020, enrollment had mushroomed to more than 3,800 students. To look back at the boom, and look at the prospects for 2021-22, we interview Kelly Edginton, the head of school at the academy. Idaho Education News…