IT IS ABOUT CHOICE

Every child, every individual, has a unique way of learning.  Every child has unique interests.  Every parent has their own aspirations for the skills and interests they see in their own child. 

These differences mean that in order to have a rich, complete school system, we need to offer a wide variety of learning opportunities for children and their families.  In short, we need to offer school choice.

Joint School District No. 2 has a long tradition of offering school choice.  Since the early 90s, we have offered choices to students who are at risk of quitting school and abandoning their education.  This first began with Meridian Academy, a school for at-risk high school students, that has now expanded to include Eagle Academy, Central Academy, Crossroads Middle School (a school for at-risk middle school students) and Pathways Middle School (an at-risk school that just began operations this fall).

In the early to mid-90s we began offering school calendar choices for parents with the opening of Pioneer, Seven Oaks, Spalding, Chaparral Elementary Schools.  We also began increasing choices for high school students with the Dehryl Dennis Professional Technical School, a partnership school with the Boise School District that allows high school students to pursue interests in welding, auto body, repair, electronics and a number of other professional technical fields.

More recently, the opportunities for school choice have accelerated.  In 1999 the district sponsored and opened the Meridian Technical Charter High School, a school for students with an interest in computer sciences, and in 2003 the district opened the Meridian Medical Arts Charter School, a school for students pursuing a career in health sciences.  The district also recently entered into another partnership with the Boise School District, giving students the opportunity to attend the Treasure Valley Math and Science Center.

In fall 2004, the district broke more new ground with the opening of the Christine Donnell School of the Arts, the first magnet school in the State of Idaho.  With an art-based curriculum, Donnell School of the Arts is a school of choice that originally served students in grades K through 6 living in the Meridian School District south of I-84.  This fall the school expanded to include 7th grade, and will continue to expand to 8th grade for next school year. With tremendous parental support, the district next converted Pioneer Elementary into the second art-based magnet school, which serves students in the Centennial High area.  This fall, to help serve out-going 5th graders from Pioneer, Lowell Scott Middle School developed an art-based magnet track so that those students can continue to pursue their art interests. Other magnet programs that have been developed in the last several years include the self-contained gifted and talented programs at both Andrus and Mary McPherson Elementary Schools.

In the fall of 2007, the district took another huge step in offering parents and students more educational choices with the opening of Galileo Math and Science Magnet School near the intersection of Linder and Floating Feather Roads in Eagle.  Imagine a school that includes an engineering track as part of its curriculum starting in kindergarten.  The school serves more than 800 students in grades K through 8.

More choices are on the way.  As superintendent, it is my goal to continue to expand the educational opportunities and choices for our students so that we will truly live up to our mission of Preparing Today's Students for Tomorrow's Challenges.