September Update!

Parents, students, teachers and charter school advocates. The Coalition of Idaho Charter School Families has been closely watching the Idaho Public School Funding Formula Committee since its inception a few years back. It is now time for them to come up with a plan and change our funding from attendance-based to enrollment based funding. 

This type of funding is helpful for virtual charter schools and for rural schools in Idaho as the state pays based on how many students are enrolled at the school. The committee is wanting to allow weighted programs to receive more funding per student enrolled in the follow areas: technology programs, students enrolled in a class with a teacher that qualifies for the career ladder program, students enrolled in career counselling programs, English Language Learners and of course, at-risk students. This is critical for the schools represented by the coalition as there are many at-risk students that get left behind in Idaho. 

The committee needs to hear parents stories as we progress towards the next meeting. If you or someone you know are interested in attending the next meeting for the Idaho Public School Funding Formula Committee please reach out to us. We NEED your support!! Let's help our kids obtain better funding! 

The next meeting:
 

Thursday, October 25th, 2018
State Capitol
Room EW 42
700 W. Jefferson St.
Boise, Idaho 83720

Please e-mail murphy@wittmeyerassociates.com if you have any questions!

PIVOTAL K-12 FUNDING SPREADSHEET REMAINS UNAVAILABLE TO PUBLIC

Kevin Richert 09/24/2018 via Idahoednews.org 

Lawmakers spent most of a Monday morning public hearing playing around with numbers — to see what a new funding formula would do for, or to, individual school districts.

But anyone else who wants to do the math is out of luck.

That’s because the legislators and their consultants are tinkering around with a spreadsheet that isn’t available to the public.

Ultimately, the math affects nearly 300,000 students across the state. A new funding formula — if adopted by the 2019 Legislature — could change the way the state distributes more than $1.5 billion in taxpayer dollars that go to K-12.

Which takes us to Monday — and the public but not wholly transparent legislative math exercise.

For months, consultants with the Denver-based Education Commission of the States has been working on a possible formula rewrite. The 2017 Legislature earmarked $400,000 for the consultants’ work.

The ECS spreadsheet represents the centerpiece of the consultants’ taxpayer-funded work product. And it was the focal point of the committee’s discussion Monday morning. Lawmakers ran through a range of scenarios — looking at how the numbers would change depending on a host of adjustments.

For example, if the state earmarks more money to help English language learners, districts with a higher percentage of ELL learners would stand to benefit. And all districts would do better if lawmakers put another $100 million into the K-12 budget — but there would still be winners and losers. Even with a $100 million infusion of money, some districts could get fewer dollars than they received the previous year, depending on the overall structure of the formula.

The 10 members of the Legislature’s school funding formula committee have had access to the ECS spreadsheet, before Monday morning’s hearing at the Statehouse. At least one lawmaker in the audience, House Education Committee member Lance Clow, R-Twin Falls, had access to the spreadsheet and followed along on his laptop. The rest of the audience watched the number-crunching as it unfolded on three projector screens in the committee room.

The spreadsheet could be publicly available in about a week, Michael Griffith of ECS told Idaho Education News. Consultants are still working on adjustments, and Griffith says he has been reluctant to release the spreadsheet until it’s finished.

The funding formula rewrite is in its third year. And the process also came under scrutiny earlier this year.

This June, ECS consultants held a series of closed-door focus group sessions with school administrators. The public and the news media were barred from these sessions, and even committee members and State Department of Education staffers were not allowed to attend. The Idaho Press Club, a media statewide organization, asked lawmakers to reconsider this approach, but the closed meetings went on as planned.

https://www.idahoednews.org/news/pivotal-k-12-funding-spreadsheet-remains-unavailable-to-public/ 

May Newsletter: Virtual Schools under attack!

 

      The Coalition of Idaho Charter School Families has decided that we need to stand up against recent criticism of our schools. The past three months, there have been articles written by different groups in Idaho that are against virtual schooling and the idea of school choice. These articles point out negatives and neglect to show the educational opportunity that these schools provide for many Idaho families. The articles below highlight a philosophy of only allowing elite charter schools in Idaho and that the under performing schools don't fit their model. This model creates a more regulatory environment that is hostile to charter innovation and creation. Charter schools began under the principle of school choice and innovation. This is a model that is intended to fit the specific student and provide an opportunity that allows them to be successful.

    We can't allow these types of groups to decide whether our schools work or not. This is now a situation that calls for parental help! These types of groups have shut down school similar to ours in different states. We need more parents that want to get involved in our group and help save our schools from potential closures. 

We will be holding a meeting with board members and friends of virtual schools. 

Friday, July 13th, 2018 @1:00PM
821 W. State Street
Boise, ID 83702

If you're interested in learning more and helping us fight back then please respond to this e-mail and join us!

These are the recent attack articles. Please read below...

https://www.idahoednews.org/moms-blog/online-schooling-didnt-work-for-us/ 

https://edexcellence.net/articles/a-tale-of-two-charter-school-sectors-ohio-versus-idaho

https://www.idahoednews.org/news/for-profit-partnerships-fuel-oversight-concerns-at-virtual-schools/ 

Opinion from our President

Imagine that a school district notifies parents that they must take their child to a location 90 miles from home for testing. Transportation will not be provided; parents are responsible for ensuring that their children arrive every day at their assigned testing site for up to a week, until all exams are complete. Families with multiple children may need to travel every day for two or three consecutive weeks, depending on the kids’ grade levels and the tests they must take. This may require making hotel arrangements and requesting leave from employers to ensure their child is present each day.

This scenario is, of course, crazy and would never happen in a regular school district. Yet it is reality for students in full-time, statewide online public schools.

Online students learn primarily from their homes and are connected to their schools through technology, receiving lessons and instruction online from teachers. Online schools differ from traditional schools in how they deliver instruction and states generally allow them some flexibility, but not for standardized testing. Idaho has very strict rules about how public schools administer state tests. Even though online schools teach students “virtually,” they must administer state tests face to face, in proctored settings — no exceptions.

Online schools do their best to limit the travel burden on families, but that is not always possible, especially in Idaho. It is not uncommon to hear stories from parents who stay overnight at hotels or with friends or relatives, or even use personal vacation time.

This is very different from the experience in traditional schools, where state testing is typically treated as just another day in the same classroom with the same teacher. In fact, administrators in brick-and-mortar schools try to structure the school day to feel as routine as possible to lessen the anxiety of state testing.

However, there is nothing routine about state testing for online students. This raises several questions: What are the psychological impacts on students who take state tests away from where they learn every day? What about students with social or emotional issues — for example, children with autism — who choose online schools because they need a comfortable, familiar setting? Though we don’t know the magnitude of the impact, it’s hard to argue none exists.

Policymakers and regulators overseeing online schools are often not aware of what their students endure during the many weeks of state testing. Few understand the stress, logistics, costs, and labor involved, for online parents and teachers.

I know state testing is an annoyance for all of Idaho's schools, students and their families.  However, it is a nightmare for parents of online students.  I want online teachers to be tasked with proctoring state tests over the internet.  If the department of education doesn't like that idea, at the very least the state should provide financial assistance for online schools to make "testing sites" available that are closer to home for all online students.

Coalition President,

Tom LeClaire

Discovery Center Event!

Come Join Us!! 

Friday, April 27th at 3:00- 5:00PM

The Coalition of Idaho Charter School Families will be hosting a day at the Discovery Center of Idaho. As the school year is coming to a close, we wanted to reach out to share a fun and educational experience!
The first 10 people to RSVP will receive FREE admission!
We will be set-up at the front where we will get you to sign-in and enjoy a fun-filled day in the exhibit. If you would like to RSVP, please e-mail our Coalition Manager  murphy@wittmeyerassociates.com
 

For directions to the Discovery Center and more information about it see below:

131 W Myrtle St, Boise, ID 83702
https://www.dcidaho.org/

We hope to see you there!!

National School Choice Week and Legislative Update

National School Choice Week

1/22/18 - 1/27/18

It is the time of year when bills are being passed and the Idaho legislature has just begun. This also means another year for the nationally celebrated School Choice Week! We as a Coalition are inviting everyone to come celebrate down at the Idaho State Capitol this week from 10:00AM- 1:30PM. We will be handing out cookies and information about how you can get involved with the Coalition. We are always looking for parents that want to help with our cause! 

Follow these links for more information:
https://schoolchoiceweek.com/about/
https://youtu.be/ef1B6JJqitk 



01/23/2018

Legislative Update:

The Coalition of Idaho Charter School Families testified in front of the Senate Education Committee on Monday, January 15th at the Idaho State Capitol. Coalition Manager (Murphy Olmstead) spoke on behalf of our president, Tom LeClaire. The agenda for the Senate Education Committee was to have different stakeholders in Idaho answer a few specific questions for the upcoming year. One of the questions asked from the committee to the stakeholders was to see what the Coalition was doing differently from last year that enhances student growth & achievement? Mr. Olmstead explained the Coalitions objective for equal funding for charter schools as well as for virtual schools. This has been a continued effort from the Coalition  and will remain consistent until it has been accomplished. The next item Mr. Olmstead suggested that the Coalition will do differently was to advocate more for a student-centered learning system that meets state and federal accountability measures. He explained that this change would present a more well-rounded picture of school performance. 

The second question asked by the committee was to name something that the Coalition is not doing, that will enhance student growth and achievement? Mr. Olmstead reiterated the ultimate goal of the Coalition as followed; "we as a coalition will continue our advocacy for school choice, innovation in the classroom and adequate funding for virtual students. Our ultimate goal is to help parents find the right education model that fits the student and makes them successful". There has been a dual-track of measurement in Idaho for what is considered a "high-performing" charter school. These different regulations have been a burden for many virtual charter schools as head of schools are getting their time taken away from real education. 

The final update from the Coaltiion of Idaho Charter School Families was to discuss the goal of traveling more to rural communities in Idaho. Mr. Olmstead discussed how this would enhance school growth and achievement by hearing from the smaller communities of Idaho. There are issues that need to be heard and the Coalition wants to represent each charter family in Idaho of what is working well for their student and what needs to be improved. 

Recent News:

YBARRA OFFERS A SNEAK PREVIEW OF HER EDUCATION BUDGET PRIORITIES

Clark Corbin 01/22/2018

State Superintendent Sherri Ybarra said demonstrating a return on investment will be the theme of her budget presentation later this week.

Ybarra is scheduled to present her K-12 public schools budget request at 8 a.m. Thursday in front of the Legislature’s Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee. Ybarra said she focused her first term in office on implementing the 2013 Governor’s Task Force for Improving Education recommendations, and she’s well aware the stakes are high.

“That’s the theme of the budget, return on investment, or the stockholders’ report,” Ybarra said Monday.

When she takes her turn in front of JFAC, Ybarra will ask lawmakers to increase K-12 funding by 6.8 percent. The major initiative driving her budget is a request to increase funding for educators’ salaries and benefits by $46 million through the career ladder salary law. Another big budget driver for Ybarra is a request to increase the state’s investment in classroom technology by $8.6 million next year.

“One of the main asks will be the career ladder ask,” Ybarra said. “Again that was the No. 1 priority of all the stakeholders when we met, that we show our support for that.”

Even though Ybarra makes her budget presentation Thursday, she has been preparing the 2018-19 school budget since last year. In July, Ybarra’s staff met with the leaders of several education groups, which unanimously called for continued investment in teacher salaries. During that meeting, education groups also asked Ybarra’s deputies to increase funding for discretionary spending, a funding source that is sometimes called operations funding. Ybarra heeded their call, requesting the state increase its discretionary funding investment by $19 million next year.

One of the biggest differences between Gov. Butch Otter’s budget proposals and Ybarra’s is discretionary spending — Otter has not recommended any increased funding in that area.

Budgets, salaries, grad rates: See data relating to Idaho public schools »

“Preparation (for developing the budget) is all year long,” Ybarra said. “You have meetings with stakeholders, of course we meet with the governor’s office, then you need to sit down and sketch that out. It’s not something I would sit and do in a vacuum.”

The public schools budget presentation is one of the most closely watched and scrutinized hearings of the session because of the amount of money in play. Public school funding is the state’s largest expense each year, and accounts for about 48 percent of all general fund spending.

“As a matter of fact, Wednesday night I’m sure I will be up all night long excited,” Ybarra said.

https://www.idahoednews.org/news/ybarra-offers-sneak-preview-education-budget-priorities/