Director's Cut February 2024 |
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HELLO February and Second Semester! |
February marks a fresh start for all students. Let’s make the best of it!! |
It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood!! |
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We are halfway through the year and we are already 3 weeks into the second semester (3rd quarter), so it is a good time to re-visit goals with your child to see if they are still on track. |
Our Goal for Each Semester: |
So much of our school’s success is rooted in a positive attitude: The positive attitude of our staff, our students, and our parents. Let’s choose to be positive and have an attitude of gratitude!
It can be as simple as being grateful for how much more daylight we have today than yesterday. |
Speaking of good news…We have a whole bunch of it for you this month: |
STEM Charter Academy Annual Report |
Charter schools are held to a higher standard than traditional public schools in that we have a performance certificate we have to renew every 5 years, and it can be revoked if we are not meeting our academic, operational, and financial goals. In fact, unlike regular public schools, charter schools can and do close if they are not performing well. Traditional public schools do not have to meet these same criteria in order to stay open, and they also receive local levy or bond money to help when they have financial needs (once again, charter schools do not receive bond or levy money EVER).
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To be clear, we in the school reform movement applaud when a poor performing school closes. It shows that accountability in the charter movement works. If I’m being totally honest, I wish the standards were even higher so that under-performing charter schools didn’t reflect poorly on the whole reform movement. Charter Schools represent some of the best of schools in the state and some charter schools represent the worst
schools in the state. North Idaho STEM Charter Academy has been at the top of the state in performance for 12 years in a row. Remember, the name “Charter” by itself does not make a school better. It just means it is a particular type of school. Choose wisely. |
Charter schools are graded on their performance and are given one of 4 levels: |
1. Honor 2. Meets Standard 3. Approaches Standard 4. Critical |
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I am pleased to announce that once again, STEM Charter Academy achieved HONOR
status. Less than 10% of Charter schools statewide achieved this status. This is a huge tribute to our dedicated staff that makes sure we are holding high standards in academics, but also our classified staff that make sure all of our operational and financial checks and balances are strictly adhered to in order to have a healthy organization. Of course having supportive and informed parents and students that accept the challenge of developing a work ethic is another huge part of a successful school. Thank you all for continuing to be the best informed and supportive parents around!!! The results are worth the effort!!
We know that better results require better inputs. We also know that there is a lot more to good education than test scores. We feel that our students get an excellent and well-rounded education. The 21st century skills they develop are the ones that employers want to see in graduates. Our commitment to excellence comes through in all areas including our music, band, and projects. That being said, content and work ethic are also important in helping our students become college and career ready. Our seniors ARE college and career ready by
all criteria set forth nationally. I hope that the most recent results from state testing will make you realize that all that effort is making a huge difference. This is not just our opinion; this is empirical data. |
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THERE IS A DIFFERENCE Please see below. (% of students proficent) |
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Invent Idaho Regional Winners Going to State: |
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The following students took home awards at the Regional Invent Idaho Competition! Take a look. These students competed against students from all our surrounding districts and schools and did VERY Well!! STEM was 1 out of 23 schools competing and our students took home 15 of the 48 awards. That’s MORE THAN one-third of all awards!!!!!! GREAT Job STEM Students and thank you Mrs. Schilke and Mrs. Son for all their efforts on this!!! Now it’s on to STATE! |
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Congratulations to Mrs. LaPresta and our Math Counts MATHLETES!!!: |
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The results are in - WE ARE GOING TO STATE! Our team of four: Lulamae, Caleb, Nathaniel, and Brooklyn earned 2nd place and will be heading to the Idaho State Math Counts Competition on Saturday, March 9th.
All ten mathletes represented well and applied themselves – Mrs. LaPresta says “something about this particular group's energy and just all-around love for math is just amazing! Like I tell them every week - "Do what you do, because what you do is pretty great!" If you see them around campus give them a high five! |
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| Competitive Team Members (back row, left to right): Nathaniel Torrieri, Ava Keppner, Naomi Rubli, Iain Edwards, Caleb Potter, Brooklyn Caywood, (coach: Mrs. LaPresta) (front row, left to right): Hailey Viaud, Patricia LaPresta, Lulamae Boehm, Collin Shafer |
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| 2nd place team (left to right): Brooklyn Caywood, Lulamae Boehm, Nathaniel Torrieri, and Caleb Potter, (coach: Mrs. LaPresta) |
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From here, you really can go anywhere: |
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*A very important point: Each year we field questions about our results in reference to our graduates. One of the most common questions has to do with rigor and the perception that students at other high schools can earn higher grades by doing less work. We can only share what we know to be true of our school. Our courses are rigorous, and it can be challenging to earn an A. We do not weight our grades--all GPAs are on a 4-point scale. We do this because colleges ask for unweighted grades, so it serves no purpose to run a separate GPA calculation based on inflated values.
Here are some interesting facts: - 100% of STEM graduates to date have been admitted to college; in most cases, to multiple colleges. The map display in our lunchroom shows all of the colleges to which our students have been admitted.
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Every STEM graduate who has made the effort to apply has been awarded scholarships to offset the expense of college, and all have earned college credits prior to graduation.
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Over 60% of our graduates have completed an Associate’s Degree during high school, and another 20% have earned industry-recognized technical certifications. The cost of earning an Associates at North Idaho College is just under $9000 in tuition alone. However, the financial value of this accomplishment can be much higher depending on the university a student attends after graduation. Our alumni report that their dual credits shaved one to two years off university expenses where the average cost of attendance ranges from $21,900-67,000 per year.
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We have eight (8) teachers on campus who teach courses for college credit, offering 16 courses face-to-face here at STEM. We also offer courses that originate offsite that our students join via video or web conferencing during the school day. This year we offered four courses in that format, allowing our students to take interactive courses without leaving our campus. More are available online through a variety of colleges around the state, and our seniors take classes on the NIC main campus.
- Our "Go On" rate
(the % of graduates attending college in the fall after graduating from high school) is among the top four high schools statewide. And while it takes time for students to complete a degree after STEM graduation, we have confirmed that 16 STEM alumni have completed degree programs since leaving our campus. This is a trend that will continue to grow, since our first graduating class was in 2018.
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Our students' college entrance exam (SAT) scores rank at or near the top in the state each year.
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Our current class of seniors has an astounding 75% who are on track to graduate from North Idaho College this spring with an Associate’s Degree or Technical Certificate. They have added 5 new pennants to our collection of colleges offering our students full admission. In addition to feedback from colleges about how well our students are prepared, even more importantly our seniors say they feel ready to "Go On" to the next step in their journeys beyond graduation. STEM graduates have transitioned to both traditional four year universities, as well as Career Technical programs such as Information Technology or Welding. While some choose to major in STEM fields such as Computer Science, Nursing, Aviation, or Engineering. Others have chosen non-STEM programs in Education, Business Administration, and Recreation.
More importantly college advisors, administrators, and admissions officers report to our parents, students, and to us that our students are better prepared than typical freshmen to be successful. Our graduates have gone on to pursue their education at colleges such as: Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Gonzaga, UC-Berkeley, Whitworth, University of Idaho, BYU-I, North Dakota State, Bennington, North Idaho College, and the Naval Academy. The college credits earned while at STEM have resulted in lower tuition and fewer required classes to graduate. Thank you to all of our teachers and a big shout out to
Mrs. Pence for providing so many opportunities and helping guide these students through the finish line!! |
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From here, you really can go anywhere!!! |
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Photo submissions are being accepted for this year's yearbook. If you have pictures of any fun stuff, please email photos to stemyearbook@northidahostem.org. Please include the names and grades of students in the pictures and a brief description, if possible. Yearbook order forms will be available soon! |
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Re-Enrollment for 2024-25: |
GREAT job filling out the re-enrollment form!! 95% of you have re-enrolled for next year already! For those of you that haven’t yet, we don’t want you to miss the February 29th deadline and lose your spot for next year! Please contact the office if you have any questions regarding the form or process. Now is also a good time to update any information regarding your student’s address, contacts, carpool, health, and/or guardianship. |
Applications for New Students: |
If you have friends or family that want to have their children attend STEM next fall, NOW is the time for them to fill out an application and get it in prior to the February 29th priority deadline!! |
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Cell Phones and SMART Watches:
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We all love our gadgets, but please remember that students may NOT have cell phones or smart watches on them during the school day. Thank you for reinforcing this with them. |
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Looking for a way to save for your child's college education? Our state offers the I-deal College Savings Plan
to help families save for college. - An account can be opened for as little as $25.
- Grandparents, relatives, family friends can also make tax-deductible gift contributions.
- Dollars in the savings plan can also be utilized to help with dual credit expenses such as textbooks, lab fees, or tuition while the student is in high school.
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If a student opts not to go on to college or trade school, the funds can be utilized by another sibling or family member.
To learn more, register to attend a virtual information meeting at this website. |
Thank you to our PIZZA LUNCH Volunteers!! |
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Thank you also to Savannah Thomas for spearheading this effort for our students!! |
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Our spring Triple Play Fundraiser will be March 7th from 6-9 PM. |
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As always, we want to thank you for your continued support of our school and your children. Working together, while others are talking about making a difference, WE ARE making a difference in education. |
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Until next time, we’ll see you in the parking lot!!! |
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| Scott Thomson Executive Director STEM Charter Academy |
| Travis Swick Principal STEM Charter Academy |
| Cyndi Cook Vice Principal STEM Charter Academy |
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You are receiving this email because your email address is associated with STEM Charter Academy
15633 N Meyer Rd. Rathdrum, ID 83858
(208) 687-8002 |
Notice: The information contained in this e-mail from North Idaho STEM Charter Academy may be privileged, confidential, or otherwise protected from disclosure. Persons who share such information with unauthorized individuals may face penalties under state and federal law. If you are not the intended recipient, please be aware that any disclosure, copying, distribution, or use of the contents of this information is prohibited. If you have received this electronic transmission in error, please immediately notify the sender and delete the copy you received.
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