BOISE — The Coalition of Idaho Charter School Families (CSF) announced a campaign to highlight the experts in online education, Idaho’s Virtual Charter Schools. Having educated thousands of Idaho students for over 15 years, Idaho’s Virtual Charter Schools are in a unique position to assist during COVID school closures. The campaign includes virtual presentations to lawmakers, members of COVID task forces, SBOE, SDE, IDLA, and opinion leaders. In addition to the presentations, a public outreach campaign is in progress to assist parents with information about their online public school options, and establish Idaho’s Virtual Schools as the experts in online education.
The Campaign Includes:
As brick and mortar schools scramble to create online education options for students, pressure mounts on parents to choose the best public school option in light of COVID-19’s impact on Idaho schools. To assist, CSF is offering various resources, hosting and co-hosting multiple events to raise awareness of existing resources to assist lawmakers, government planning committees, and parents as they continue their efforts through the painstaking learning curve of transitioning from in-person only classes to a full virtual education.
“Teachers, staff and administrators in Idaho’s virtual schools have experience in brick and mortar classrooms-- they've already experienced the learning curve involved in getting students and curriculum online while engaging all students at a high level. Idahoans who work for our Virtual Charter Schools have a vested interest in assisting their brick and mortar counterparts: Not only do the employees of the Virtual Schools have their own children attending brick and mortar schools in Idaho, but they have expertise to help traditional schools and charter schools with the transition to online education. They’ve been watching the stumbles and successes of Idaho schools, and they want to help.” Tom LeClaire, President, Coalition of Idaho Charter School Families
Upcoming Events Hosted or Co-Hosted by CSF
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ZOOM and Facebook: Live Q and A panel with 7 Virtual Charter Schools and Nate Shelman of 670- AM KBOI. Streamed live on the CSF facebook page, Nate Shelman will moderate this panel of leaders. Monday, August 3, 7-8 PM MT, streamed live on CSF Facebook page.
Recent Events hosted by CSF
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Virtual Charter School Administrators Presentation via ZOOM to Lawmakers and COVID Task Force Members. Present: Education Committee Legislators, SBOE President Critchfield, PCSC Chairman Reed, State Dept of ed staff, Idaho Digital Learning Alliance Director, Office of the Governor (invited). Administrators discussed best practices in transitioning to online education and offered to help brick and mortar and charter schools with professional development. The meeting took place May 28th.
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Virtual Charter School Parents, Homeschool Parents and Virtual School Administrators Q and A with public questions. In a town hall via Zoom, streamed live on CSF Facebook, over 5,500 Idahoans watched and asked questions, and hoped to find comfort for concerns over Fall learning options. Over 700 Idahoans watched the 90 minute meeting from beginning to end. You can view the townhall that originally streamed live on July 28th, right here.