IDAHO
State emails shed light on departure of Ybarra’s former spokesman
Dan Goicoechea resigned from the State Department of Education Sept. 18, after a former colleague filed a complaint alleging harassment and discrimination.
Rethinking remediation: Colleges look for new ways to help at-risk students
Every year, some 2,500 Idaho college students need extra help to complete college-level work. Schools are looking for new ways to help get these students working toward their degrees.
Bonneville homeowners pay a growing price for growth
Rampant growth and a developing tax base have wafted local property taxes to unprecedented levels compared to districts of similar size.
Schools split over the way they pay teachers
About half of Idaho’s districts and charters have recently adopted a Legislature-approved model to pay teachers, while the others continue to use the old salary model.
How Idaho SAT scores compare with other states
Idaho’s SAT scores are roughly middle of the road — when compared with other states that make the college-entrance exam available to students, free of charge.
State Board of Education adopts higher ed reform recommendations
State Board members will also request funding for a new statewide degree audit and student data analytics system that should give students better information about their credits and transferring courses.
Non-traditional hires surge amid Idaho’s teacher shortage
In increasing numbers, Idaho schools are hiring professionals with no teaching experience or college graduates who didn’t major in education. They’re also shuffling teachers into hard-to-fill vacancies.
Education news around Idaho
This weeks briefs feature a $1,000 technology grant educators can win, an announcement from Gov. Otter and a Feed the Need event in Meridian.
97 percent of teachers earn top marks on latest evaluations
State Board of Education member Debbie Critchfield believes evaluations are improving and the State Board has added more transparency to the process with its annual review process.
Idaho teens aren’t getting state-mandated help planning their careers
Counselors say they don’t have enough time to help students create learning plans for traversing high school and beyond, even though lawmakers have recently invested millions into the project.