Should students have a voice in their own education? Should they be the driving force in creating their own school?
That’s the idea behind One Stone, a private, student-led school in Downtown Boise. The program shifts the balance of power and puts students in charge. Their voices shape their school day.
An embedded film crew chronicled the second year of operations at One Stone high school during the 2017-2018 school year. The film “Rise: Voice of a New Generation” will screen in communities across the United States.
Boise’s premiere is Tuesday, April 2, at the Egyptian Theatre (700 W. Main St). Doors open at 5 p.m. with a showing at 6 p.m. Tickets are $10.
Chloe French and Bennett Huhn are both year-three One Stone students who have been with the school since its launch. They are featured in the movie. Both said it was a unique and special opportunity to see their school life documented.
“I’ve been able to craft an experience unlike school at my school,” Huhn said.
French would like to see the movie have a national impact. “I hope it inspires change because things can be done differently,” she said.
The film was created by Jon Long, who has produced and directed films and television programing for more than 20 years for companies such as Universal Studios, Disney, National Geographic and PBS. His past work includes Extreme and The Search for Freedom.
- Click here to watch the trailer.
- Read more about One Stone from these published stories: Inside an innovation school where students run the show and student calls his new school a complete experiment.
Note: Idaho Education News and One Stone receive funding from the J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Family Foundation.
Caldwell student and teacher chosen for national science program
Caldwell High School sophomore Daisy Estrada Garza and her teacher Erin Loketeff are going to the Bahamas to study sea turtles this summer.
The pair was chosen from a national pool of applicants to participate in the 2019 Jason Argonaut Experience. The summer expedition is a STEM focused program through a company called JASON, which sends students and teachers around the world to work with scientist and engineers in the field.
Garza and Loketeff will document the trip to the Bahamas so they can “share their expedition experiences with their communities back home and others throughout the world,” according to a news release.
Latino astronaut to speak at Middleton elementary schools
The Idaho Press reports that José Hernández will speak at Middleton schools next week. He is a former astronaut who grew up in a family of migrant farmworkers and went on to join the crew of Space Shuttle Discovery.
Hernández offered to speak with students following controversy in the Middleton district last fall when a picture of staff at Middleton Heights Elementary dressed as the border wall, and others dressed in sombreros, went viral.
In a tweet Hernandez said he would reach out to the district and “offer to tell my story of reaching the American dream.”
Now, he’s following up on that promise.
“I’m hoping it will resonate, and I’m hoping it gives them a license to dream big,” Hernández told the Press. “‘He looks like me, he talks like me, he worked in the same conditions my dad and we work in.’ It’s a process of empowerment.”
Nominations open for Idaho ‘Digital Innovator’ teacher award
Idaho Public Television is looking for nominees to be the 2019 recipient of a Digital Innovator award given to teachers who incorporate technology and digital media into classroom learning.
To apply, teachers have to submit a video clip that “highlights their passion for technology-based classroom innovation and provides insight into the innovative strategies they use to engage students,” according to an IdahoPTV news release.
Contest winners get a free trip to the Northwest Council for Computer Education conference in Seattle in February 2020, a $1,000 classroom innovation kit, a chance to partner with IdahoPTV for professional development and more.
The winner will be announced on May 17 and honored at a June 20th Educate and Celebrate event.
Applications will be accepted until April 19 at Idahoptv.org/teachers/digitalinnovatorcontest.cfm.
Call 1-800-543-6868 with questions.
Boise State University hosts Science Olympiad
The 2019 Idaho Science Olympiad is gearing up to be the largest state science competition yet.
The Science Olympiad, a science competition with a variety of team events, is an effort to encourage youth to pursue STEM education. On April 13, Boise State University will host the 27th iteration of the annual event.
“The Science Olympiad offers students both a broad and deep immersion into the realm of science,” organization president Jean Parker said in a news release. “We bring together academia, government professionals, and private industry to provide the competitors with a challenging and engaging format to test their knowledge and understanding of science and technology.”
The olympiad winner will go on to represent Idaho at the national science olympiad hosted at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.
State approves cohort of STEM certified schools
The Idaho State Board of Education and the Idaho STEM Action Center approved a handful of schools to be part of the state’s first cohort of designated STEM schools.
The schools include:
- Barbara Morgan STEM Academy in Meridian
- Bingham Academy in Blackfoot
- Galileo STEM Academy in Eagle
- Temple View Elementary School in Idaho Falls
The schools self-accessed their educational programs through an AdvancED STEM Certification process and were evaluated by a certification team.
The schools will keep their STEM designation for five years, before having to reapply.
“It’s important for parents who want their children to become STEM literate to know the education they’re receiving is of the highest quality and not just a buzzword,” David Hill, a State Board of Education member and STEM Action Center board president said, according to a news release.
School principals told the STEM Action Center that the certification both celebrates hard work, and helps the schools identify how they can continue to grow. Galileo Academy principal Rob Lamb told the center that after the school became certified, other institutions reached out to learn from Galileo Academy.
“This allows us to develop relationships so we can help other school’s programs while learning from their programs, too, which means we’re all just going to get stronger at teaching STEM as time goes on,” Lamb said, according to the news release.
