The Idaho Public Charter School Commission approved applications for two new schools Thursday — with some conditions. 

Doral Academy of Idaho, a K-8 charter school in Meridian, plans to add grades 9-12 at a second campus. Elevate Academy, a network of career-technical charters, is also preparing a new CTE-focused school serving grades 6-12 in Pocatello.

Before they open, however, school leaders must prove to the charter commission that they have balanced operating budgets along with lease or purchase agreements for their buildings. They must also hand over copies of all grants, loans and contracts they’ve secured to fund and operate the schools. 

The charter commission unanimously voted to approve the schools with conditions. If the conditions aren’t satisfied, school openings could be delayed or the commission’s approval of their applications could be revoked. 

Doral Academy Preparatory

Doral Academy will add a second campus, also in Meridian, that serves middle and high schoolers. The new school, Doral Academy Preparatory, will be 6-12 while the current school moves to K-5. 

Doral Academy is an “arts-integration” school, which means it uses arts as a method of instruction in all subjects, said Sara Frost, chairwoman of the charter’s board of directors. “We want to continue growing that into a high school experience that will continue to be a very vibrant and enriching education for our students.”

Doral Academy leaders plan to launch the preparatory school next year, welcoming ninth-graders in the fall. Additional grades will be added in subsequent years after the new building in south Meridian is ready. 

The new school will have sports and house 840 students at full capacity, Frost told the commission. School leaders are banking on Meridian’s continued growth to fill the halls. Their presentation pointed to thousands of new residential units coming to south Meridian.

Commissioner Wally Hedrick questioned that assumption, noting that public school enrollment is dropping amid a declining birth rate and fewer people moving to Idaho with school-age children.

“I’m a little concerned that you’re hanging your hat on ‘We’ll fill this gap, if there’s going to be houses out there,’” he said. 

Enrollment at Doral Academy’s K-8 school grew 27% last year, going from 325 to 414 students. Frost also said that south Meridian and Kuna are attractive for families. 

“Besides that, we just believe that what we’re offering is substantial and worthwhile and different,” she said. 

Elevate Academy Pocatello

Elevate Academy, a statewide network of CTE-focused schools targeting “at-risk” students, is planning a new branch in Pocatello.

It will become the network’s seventh charter school in Idaho. And it will be the fourth charter school in Pocatello, eastern Idaho’s second-largest city. 

Logan Waetje, industries coordinator for the Elevate Academy Network, told the charter commission that the new school will expose Pocatello students to career training as early as 6th grade. 

“We’re adding a different look, a different lens, and giving those CTE programs to the students at an earlier age,” with the goal of getting them into jobs, he said. 

The school is scheduled to open in 2028.