Kevin Richert
A ‘crisis:’ A grim State Board looks at the looming teacher shortage
Linda Clark — a State Board member and career K-12 educator — said the unprecedented shortage will hit rural schools the hardest. “I wish we could just say this morning, ‘Here’s the solution,’ …. We really have to put our thinking caps on here.”
Finalist pulls out of running for NIC presidency
Four finalists remain in the running for the opening at North Idaho College — which has been beset by infighting on its governing board, an exodus of top-level administrators, and questions about its accreditation.
Episode 57: An inflection point in the school safety debate
The May 24 mass shooting at a Uvalde, Texas, elementary school has refocused a national discussion over school safety and gun control. Mike Munger works on these issues on a daily basis. He’s the manager of the state’s School Safety and Security Program, which reviews safety protocols and procedures at Idaho’s public schools. This week,…
Analysis: As a nervous summer begins, schools scramble to fill job vacancies
Idaho schools have at least 700 teacher vacancies — and a scarcity of qualified applicants. Said one administrator, “The crisis that we have been talking about for the last 10 years is here.”
Nampa ban sparks a book giveaway
The giveaway came nearly a month after Nampa trustees permanently banned 22 book titles from school libraries.
Teacher shortages, troubled charter, standards: this week’s State Board agenda
The State Board of Education will meet Tuesday and Wednesday at Idaho State University.
NIC names finalists for president’s position
The five finalists, all from outside Idaho, will begin touring the Coeur d’Alene campus this week, meeting with constituent groups and holding public forums.
Episode 56: What’s the state of early education in Idaho?
In 2021, in one of the hottest education debates of the year, lawmakers rejected a $6 million-a-year federal early education grant. A year later, what is the state of early education in Idaho? And how does the all-day kindergarten push change the landscape? This week, Kevin Richert interviews Beth Oppenheimer, executive director of the Idaho…
Analysis: This negotiating season, will teacher pay raises meet expectations?
More money. More variables. Administrators and local union leaders are trying to figure out how to spend a huge increase in K-12 budgets — in hopes of keeping teachers in Idaho classrooms.
Retiring lawmaker joins U of I as a lobbyist
Caroline Nilsson Troy — a Vandal graduate, former University of Idaho administrator and eight-year House member — will begin her new job July 1.