Coalition Response to CREDO presentations at House/ Education Committees

RELEASE: Idaho Parents Respond to CREDO's Attack on Parent/Student Choice

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Today’s CREDO report diminishes the important personal reasons many students and parents choose a virtual school environment, according to the Idaho parents who comprise the Coalition of Idaho Charter School Families. In addition, it ignores vital data about the current success enjoyed by virtual schools in Idaho.

Marjie Magee, Coalition board member said, “If it wasn’t such a serious assault on the well-being of my family and my child, I would almost be able to laugh at the concept of a so-called expert from the Bay Area, California lecturing Idaho parents on the best education options for our families,” said Marjie. “While these so-called experts turn my child into just another number on their spreadsheets, I am the one sitting across from him/her at the kitchen table. Virtual education works for my child and thousands of families across Idaho and the nation. No amount of manipulated, cherry-picked data from these self-appointed experts can change that fundamental, unalterable truth.”

A few actual facts for context:

-Idaho Virtual Academy’s graduation rate improved 7 percentage points to 67% from the 2017 cohort to the 2018 cohort. It has improved from 23.8% in 2014 to 67% now, a 43.2 percentage point increase in just five years.

-IDVA’s 2018 ISAT proficiency levels in ELA and math were both higher than the state average.

“It’s simple, choice is good for parents and it’s good for students,” Marjie said. “Maybe next time the so-called experts from California can spend less time on their spreadsheets and more time speaking with the people whose lives their trying to disrupt.”