FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
This FAQ page answers common questions about charter schools in general. Specific information on either Sage International of Boise or Forge can be found on those school page's FAQs. Please contact
us by emailing [email protected] if you have questions regarding these FAQs, information
on our website, or any topics we did not cover.
Sage International Network of Schools are free, public
charter schools authorized by the Idaho Public Charter School Commission. Sage
International of Boise is not a part of the Boise School District and Forge International is not part of the Middleton School District. Please click the links below for
important information regarding what it means to be a public charter school in
Idaho.
CHARTER SCHOOLS - General Information
The following links provide general information about
Idaho charter schools:
· Click here for
the Idaho Department of Education’s Charter School Page.
· Click
here to go to the Idaho Public
Charter School Commission’s (PCSC) web site.
· Click here to
go to Idaho’s Public Charter School statute.
· Click here to
go to Idaho’s Administrative Rules Governing Public Charter Schools.
Why does Idaho include charter schools within
its public school system?
Charter schools are public schools
and are intended to expand and enhance public education options in Idaho for
students, teachers, families and the community by offering innovative education
models that do not otherwise exist in the traditional public school system. In
short, charter schools are designed to be different and to provide clear
education choices - a charter school should not look, feel, and teach like area
traditional public schools.
When the Idaho Legislature enacted
Idaho’s charter school laws in 1998, they offered the following reasons for
creating public charter schools: (1) To improve student learning; (2) To
increase learning opportunities for all students, with special emphasis on
expanded learning experiences for students; (3) To include the use of different
and innovative teaching methods; (4) To utilize virtual distance learning
and on-line learning; (5) To create new professional opportunities for
teachers, including the opportunity to be responsible for the learning program
at the school site; (6) To provide parents and students with expanded choices
in the types of educational opportunities that are available within the public
school system; and (7) To hold the schools established under this chapter
accountable for meeting measurable student educational standards.
What does the word ‘charter’ refer to in
‘Charter School’?
A ‘charter’ is a document that a
school submits to the State Board of Education (Idaho Charter Commission)
seeking ‘authorization’ to become a publicly funded school of choice. The
charter document explains exactly what that school will offer - it explains the
school’s purpose and mission, size, curriculum, grade levels, growth plan,
etc. In other words, it informs families what they are ‘choosing’ when
they consider attending that school.
When a charter school is proposed
and goes through the authorization process, it must define what it is going to
offer that is otherwise not offered by area district schools. If the
charter is approved or ‘authorized’, the State gives the founding Board and
Executive Director the autonomy and funding to build the best school they can
in accordance with the charter. The school’s funding and continued
existence are tied to delivering on their charter commitments. If the board and
leadership stray from their charter (aka mission drift), the school will lose
its funding and will, in all likelihood, close. Because the charter
defines the unique opportunities the school offers, families understand the
choice they are making by attending that school.
How are charter schools different than traditional public schools?
Charter schools in Idaho exist to
offer educational ‘choices’ that differ from what other public school districts offer to public school students. Charters are not intended to mimic large,
traditional school districts and do not have the ‘economies of scale’
(financially or personnel-wise) to offer everything a traditional school
district can offer - they are meant to be different.
Comparing the Boise District to Sage
International of Boise highlights these differences - if you think of the Boise District
and Sage International as businesses, the Boise District is Microsoft and Sage
International is a new, growing tech startup.
The Boise School District has
existed since 1881. The Boise District constructed and paid for many of
its schools over 100 years ago and has run a similar number of students and
grade levels through certain schools for decades. Currently, the Boise
District has 48 schools with over 26,000 students and a full-time staff of
2,600. District schools often cover 10-20 acres and have their own football
fields and athletic complexes. The 48 district schools are a great option for
many area families.
In contrast, Sage International
School of Boise first opened in 2010. Over the last eight years, Sage has grown
from 218 students in K-7 grades to our current enrollment of 1,025 students in
K-12 grades. Sage financed the purchase of its campus in 2016 and expends 13% of its total revenues each year. Sage has just under 100
employees. Both Sage International School and Forge International School are ‘chartered’ to provide the
International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum and French and Spanish language instruction -
while also meeting all State of Idaho curriculum and assessment requirements that
traditional schools meet. Each school under the Sage International Network of Schools are their own ‘school district’,
intended to be different and innovative, with a great deal of autonomy within
its charter parameters.