Albertson Foundation giving $25M to ed reform
Statement from Executive Director
and Foundation Board Member, Jamie MacMillan
The J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Foundation Board of Directors met recently
to approve a $25 million investment that will help educators, parents, citizens and
decision-makers be better informed and consistently monitor efforts to improve
student achievement in Idaho. The Foundation has always believed that it was
important to move toward a more informed, accountable and transparent education
system where data is used to make timely decisions that benefit student learning.
We are encouraged by the recent education reform efforts and believe this is a step
in the right direction.
As these education reform efforts increasingly focus on better preparing
students for success beyond a high school diploma, the quality and accessibility of
relevant data and information is critical. The new legislation increases decision-
making and control at the local level. Coupled with the complexity of reform of this
magnitude, the Foundation believes that now more than ever it is important that
local school districts and education stakeholders are equipped with the tools to
assess progress and make timely improvements to ensure student success.
Our Board further believes that Idaho citizens should have the opportunity to
become more informed about and engaged in our state’s education reform efforts.
We are committing substantial resources to expanding our Data for Stakeholders
focus area, started several years ago to provide the public with information about
Idaho’s educational system. Our $25 million Data for Stakeholders investment
includes:
State Department of Education SchoolNet Grant
Twenty-one million dollars will be provided to the Idaho State Department of
Education to fund the SchoolNet Instructional Improvement System,
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primarily for software. SchoolNet has the capacity to provide educators with
the information they need to inform and improve instructional practices,
decision-making and overall effectiveness.
Originally proposed as part of the Idaho school reform package, initial state
funding was eliminated due to budget cuts. While state funding is provided
for in years three to five, the Foundation feels strongly that this tool must be
made available now to enhance the monitoring of student progress and
teacher effectiveness in a consistent and timely way so results are
comparable across grades and districts.
SchoolNet is an Instructional Management System that provides teachers,
principals and administrators with real-time data to analyze educational
performance by student, classroom, school or district. It gives teachers real-
time feedback to assess individual student and classroom learning. It
provides parents and students with portals to check their student’s grades,
homework and extra credit options. State officials, districts, school boards
and schools can use this data to assess student outcomes and progression
toward state standards, and to guide intervention strategies and formulate
action plans to improve student achievement.
Idaho Education Network
The Foundation will complete its $6 million commitment to the Idaho
Education Network (IEN). Our goal was to “jump start” the IEN, a $60 million
broadband initiative that has been instrumental in providing dual enrollment
and advanced placement courses to all Idaho high school students, especially
in rural areas. We are pleased with the initial results of this valuable new
technology.
Idaho Education Resource Guide
The Foundation is committed to distribution of 450,000 copies of the Idaho
Education Resource Guide, three times a year, to parents, teachers, school
board members, school administrators, business leaders and interested
members of the public. The Education Resource Guide will provide
information on Idaho’s education reform efforts. Information can be used to
better understand the reasons for the reform, chart its progress, and identify
what stakeholders can do to support teachers, schools, administrators and
school boards in their efforts to help every student succeed.
21
st
Century Learning Forums
The Foundation will host a series of “21st Century Learning Forums.” Four
times a year national education experts will be invited to Idaho for town hall
meetings, where they will discuss the latest models and student achievement
successes from around the country. These forums will be available and open
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to the public, and held over the Idaho Education Network to allow the
broadest participation from Idahoans.
This substantial investment is reflective of the Foundation’s position that all
Idahoans deserve an education that prepares them for college or 21st century
careers. The result will be a lasting foundation for student achievement aligned to
the workforce demands in Idaho now and into the future.