Idaho ready for next big education step

Educators, you’re not in this fight alone.

You’ve got business, big and small, battling right beside you.

Thanks to an outstanding nonprofit called Idaho Business for Education, those who teach and those who hire those who have been taught are on the same team.

In some places, taxpaying business folk and educators are not on the same team — or on the same planet. IBE, led by talented president and CEO Rod Gramer, works with government and public education, not against them. There are no beatings; there’s no derision. There is in-depth analysis followed by practical, realistic and cooperative steps leading to educational improvement, because that’s what tomorrow’s employers will depend upon when they need to fill important jobs.

Idaho is completing the final year of a five-year education-bolstering program that was spawned by a task force assembled by former Gov. Butch Otter. Otter got plenty of help from his friends at IBE, which boasts a membership of more than 200 of the most engaged businesses across the Gem State. Now Idaho is on the doorstep of the next phase of educational improvement, and once again, IBE is on the front line.

This week, a team of experts from HP was in North Idaho, interviewing business people, educators, civic leaders, parents and others as part of the most comprehensive education assessment project ever done here. HP, known by some of us older fogies as Hewlett Packard, has done similar educational analyses in other countries, but never has a state undergone this kind of expert education intelligence-gathering from a corporate giant. The project, expected to be completed soon and released around mid-June, is a gift from HP, which is paying all costs.

The huge question is, what will happen with the HP study data? So often, projects are done and the results gather dust on a high shelf in a dark room.

Well, not this one.

Among those excited about the information HP’s study will reveal is Gov. Brad Little, who will soon announce his own K-12 task force.

“My task force will work collaboratively to deliver the next five-year plan to improve student achievement and deliver accountability for parents and taxpayers,” Little told The Press. “In order to make informed recommendations, the task force will commission a handful of studies on many different Idaho education issues. I have been briefed on the HP study, and I definitely think it will provide an important statewide snapshot for making actionable recommendations on improving Idaho’s K-12 system and building a strong foundation for the state’s future prosperity.”

To HP and the local people who participated in the HP interviews, thank you.

And to the 15,000 or so Idaho teachers who are too often abused and disrespected, please know that you’ve got more friends than you might realize.