Education news around Idaho

Meridian student named National WWII Museum student ambassador

The National WWII Museum, in coordination with the Idaho State Historical Society, named Josh White a Museum Student Ambassadors for 2018. The Renaissance High senior placed first in the documentary category at the Idaho State History Day competition and won the “Best Idaho Entry” at the National History Day competition at the University of Maryland in 2017.

Each year, eight high school students become Museum Student Ambassadors with the responsibility to identify local WWII veterans and collect their oral histories. Those histories are archived in the Museum’s collection to be preserved in perpetuity. Student Ambassadors have collected more than 100 oral histories in communities across the country. Ambassadors are selected through a competitive application process from national high school students who competed at the National History Day competition.

Josh is the senior class president at Renaissance High, a math tutor and captain of the academic decathlon team.

DECA Idaho in need of competition judges

Do you work in the fields of marketing, business, management, hospitality, tourism, finance and entrepreneurship? DECA Idaho needs your help with judging student projects. Students from across Idaho will gather at the Nampa Civic Center and compete in the DECA State Career Development Conference on Feb. 22-24. Students will test, develop and present professional business plans to industry leaders and the top students will qualify for the 2018 DECA International Career Development Conference in Atlanta, Ga.

If you would like to be a judge, click here.

Give feedback on K-12 assessments

The State Department of Education invites Idahoans to provide feedback on the state’s assessment system in an online survey available now through Feb. 16. The survey takes about 20 minutes to complete and covers a variety of topics including costs, time spent on testing and alignment with standard.

Results of the online survey and feedback from in-person focus groups held in January will be shared with the Idaho Assessment Task Force, a group empaneled by state superintendent Sherri Ybarra to review the state’s comprehensive assessment system and make recommendations.

The stakeholder task force and Assessment Solutions Group are reviewing the state’s assessment system and engaging Idahoans about the system during the 2017-18 school year to prepare a report and recommendations to be shared with the State Board of Education later this year.

To access the survey, click here.

Ninth circuit civics contest for teens

The Ninth District Court has opened its annual 2019 civics contest to high school teens. This year’s contest is tied to the 14th Amendment and equal protection. Students can enter either a video or easy.

First place prize: $2,000
Second place prize: $1,000
Third place prize: $500

Click here for contest details.

Regional Middle School Science Bowl competition

Students from across Idaho, Washington and Utah will compete in the seventh annual Western Idaho Middle School Regional Science Bowl on Saturday at Boise State University. The Jeopardy-style competition requires six through eighth grade students to solve technical problems and answer questions on questbiology, chemistry, Earth and space science, physics and math. The winning team will receive an all expenses paid trip to the National Science Bowl in Washington, D.C. in April.

You can check out the 18 teams in action at Boise State University’s engineering building starting at 9:30 a.m.

Four teachers to attend MBA Research Leadership Forum

Della Grice and Ryan Vordahl, marketing teachers at Post Falls High School, Matt Schneiderman, a business teacher at Caldwell High School and Sarah Pelayo, a business teacher at Mt. Harrison High School, will attended the national MBA Research (Marketing and Business Administration Research and Curriculum Center) Leadership Forum The three-day strategic planning and collaborative experience is designed to development a common vision for business and marketing education.

While at the Leadership Forum the teachers will grow leadership skills and stability of their profession working with teachers from across the country.

Idaho schools receive funds for wellness programs

The Idaho Dairy Council is awarding 24 Idaho schools grants to support their Fuel Up to Play 60 initiatives. Hundreds of schools from across the country applied for funding to help them jumpstart and sustain healthy nutrition and physical activity improvements. Grants awarded for this funding period totaled $80,678.

The list of Idaho school recipients includes: