Claim: Studies have shown that 9th Grade Students Perform better in a High School Environment

Facts: Numbers don’t support that claim

2 school districts in Idaho do not put 9th graders in the High School - Boise School District #1 - Madison School District #341

District Grade Language Math Reading Science#1 Boise 9 231 246 232 n/a

#93 Bonneville 9 230 244 231 n/a#321 Madison 9 231 248 231 n/a

#1 Boise 10 233 249 234 226

#93 Bonneville 10 234 247 234 225#321 Madison 10 235 252 236 228

Idaho Standard Assessment Test (iSAT) scores for the 3 districts

Bonneville School District did not out perform these two school districts. If one wants to be picky they actually were outperformed by both schools in 6 of the 7 tested areas.

* Boise school district also has the Frank Church Juvenile Delinquent school (~400 students) in their district which has some of the worst iSAT tests in the state and still the district out performs or matches District #93

More FactsTimberline and Capital Senior High School (Boise School District #1) were both one of 8 high schools to receive a national silver medal recognition for academic achievement. They received the 2nd and 6th highest rating of any school in the state.

Madison High School received a bronze medal national recognition.

Bonneville School District #93 had zero schools receiving any national recognition. Link to USNews article

Concerns of 9th Graders in High School• A decrease in achievement from middle school to high school• Many straight-A students experience their first grade decline• Cases of behavior problems, such as suspensions and expulsions,

significantly increase in the early 9thgrade year• New social concerns, such as bullying, navigating the new and larger

school, in addition to establishing new relationships at the secondary school “overshadow concerns about academics.”

http://www.publicschoolreview.com/blog/should-9th-grade-be-separate-from-high-school

Studies Show 9th Grade Should Not Be Mixed With High School• As a number of schools across the country experiment with programs to

separate 9th graders from the larger high school setting, Boston College investigated such programs to gain insight into their effectiveness. By reviewing curriculum data and conducting teacher interviews, Boston College analyzed separate 9th grade programs for the span of two years. • Results from the study show that, overall, the isolation of 9th graders in “a

separate building, wing or floor eases the transition to high school.” Paired with this, “Ninth grade students benefit by building relationships with peers in the same grade,” as students, teachers, and administers reported fewer concerns of bullying by older students.

http://www.publicschoolreview.com/blog/should-9th-grade-be-separate-from-high-school

Claim: Students need a functioning High School and sports and performing arts are a big part of that

- Board Chairman Brian McBride Post Register Article 9/4/2015

Fact: Charter Schools Defy this Notion

Charter school students in Idaho perform well in comparison to other Idaho public school students, and Idaho’s charter schools as a group are well rated academically. On the 2014 Idaho “SAT Day” five of the top six scoring high schools were charters. Only 20 of the 191 high schools who participated in SAT Day were charter schools. Additionally, 55 percent of those charter high schools scored in the top quartile of all high schools. Idaho charter school students as a group perform better on National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reading and math assessments than their traditional district school peers. In 2013, fourth and eighth grade charter students outpaced their district peers in both reading and math

http://idahocsn.org/charter-schools/12-things-about-idaho-charter-schools/

• One of the biggest knocks against charter schools is they have limited to no sports and other extra curricular activities. That lack of activity does not appear to affect their academic performance.

Fact: Smaller Schools Means = Less Students = More Opportunities• A smaller student body allows for more students to participate in athletics. • Mathematically is it easier to make an extra curricular team if you have a student body of over 1000 students or 400

students?• Only 5 people can play on a basketball court at a time. 11 People play on a football field. You only have one

student body president. The drama production only has so many slots on the cast and crew.

District Grade Language Math Reading Science#1 Boise 9 231 246 232 n/a#93 Bonneville 9 230 244 231 n/a#321 Madison 9 231 248 231 n/a#59 Firth 9 226 244 228 #60 Shelly 9 230 245 231

#1 Boise 10 233 249 234 226#93 Bonneville 10 234 247 234 225#321 Madison 10 235 252 236 228#59 Firth 10 230 250 234 224#60 Shelly 10 232 248 233 220

Idaho Standard Assessment Test (iSAT) scores for the 5 districts

Shelly and Firth School Districts have half the students in their high schools but offer nearly identical extra curricular activities and compete in all sports that Bonneville, Madison, and Boise Districts compete in. Shelly and Firth do not outperform the larger

schools from this small sample size they actually perform worse.

Claim: Standardized Testing Isn’t Everything

University Attendance• Just under 52 percent of Idaho’s 2013 high school graduates have enrolled in

two- or four-year college• The state’s two largest districts, West Ada and Boise, comfortably beat the

statewide average. Each sent more than 61 percent of their graduates to two- or four-year institutions. • Madison School District Sent 57% to Universityhttp://www.idahoednews.org/news/go-on-numbers-trend-downward/#.Vesjd_lViko

County

Bachelor's degree or higher, percent of persons age 25+, 2009-2013

Ada 36.00%Bonneville 26.00%Madison 33.70%

Idaho Census Numbers for 2015

Claim: We’re at a point where we’re seeing a great market value and great growth.

- Board Chairman Brian McBride Post Register Article 9/4/2015

Economic Prosperity Tied To INL

• Senator Labrador (Idaho Senator from Western Idaho) does not support the labRep. Raul Labrador recently faced the Idahoans whose jobs he put on the line in votes to cut Energy Department lab’s budget and in his support for shutting down the government.“Labrador told the Idaho Statesman he rejects the idea that Idaho’s economy depends on the federal dollars that go to research and environmental clean-up at the lab because “government doesn’t create jobs.” He stuck to that message in talks to local leaders and the Rotary Club, reminding folks we have a $17 trillion national debt.”INL creates more than 24,000 Idaho jobs and generates $3.5 billion in economic impact, according to Boise State University economists. Just a few years back INL had more than 8,000 people directly working for the government or its contractors, and an additional 16,133 people had jobs because the INL is there due to the multiplier effect.

Economic Prosperity Tied To INL

• Political Tension is boiling. • No budget for 2016 has been approved (Continuous Resolution)

• Threats of shutting down the government are on the rise• The government CANNOT continue to spend and spend. Budget cuts

will HAVE to occur. Those cuts will impact jobs in Eastern Idaho. • October 1st 2015 a new INL director is taking over for the lab as the

former director of 10+ years is retiring. • These are not indicators of economic growth coming from the INL in

the future

D91 Shows Us How Quickly Economics Can Change

• For all of the growth in Idaho Falls over the last few years, Idaho Falls District #91 has not seen it.• Yearly enrollment has continued to drop each year• District 91 has changed to a 4 year high school because their enrollment had

dropped so much over the last 5 years• In 2016, District 91 will be dropping to a 4A school athletically

Charter Schools are Springing Up

• First Charter School Opened in 1998• Charter Schools were built to provide the following:• Escape hatches for children who were stuck in schools that were failing or

that were simply not meeting the needs of particular students. • They would serve as centers of innovation, research, and development that

would in time benefit children across public education. • They would generate competition that would spur districts toward sustained

academic reform. • They would cost less than district schools.

Charter Schools are Springing Up

• There are currently 41 brick and mortar charter schools, six statewide virtual schools, and one distant education academy in Idaho that collective serve about 19,700 students.• According to the Idaho Department of Education, there are about

11,000 student names on waiting lists who would like to attend one of the state’s charter schools.

Charter Schools in Idaho Falls

• 4 of the 41 Charter Schools are located in Idaho Falls and 3 are located in District 93 school boundaries. • 289,000 students in the state of Idaho. 11,000 students are in District 93

• One should ask why have charter schools been so successful in Idaho Falls. Maybe more people then the NO group are not happy with the way that this District is being run.

• This percentage is even worse, if the Odyssey Charter School had not had its charter revoked last year because nearly 1/10th of the charter schools were located in District 93.

• Only Taylor’s Crossing has a K-12 program. The other charter schools are mulling ideas of creating more 7-12 charter school options for their students. • If more high schools start popping up, this will hurt enrollment numbers

Claim: The High School is the biggest concern for the District

Facts: They want to split session the Middle School• If a High School has the most over crowding, does it not makes sense to split the

High School? • Or is it to cause the most possible pain to the parents of students?

• A survey in 2014 showed that parents support year around school over split session when the High School Bond failed the first time• "Any option you have there will be cost: split sessions there will be cost, year round

school there will be cost. If we do year-round school, we probably need to provide air conditioning in our high schools schools so that they can go in the summer months," said Marjean McConnell, deputy superintendent for D93.

• http://www.localnews8.com/news/bonneville-school-district-considers-yearround-school/25522106

• Bonneville and Hillcrest already have air conditioning – just ask any student found wearing their coat in the classroom during May and September. (another scare tactic)

District 93 Student GrowthYear K 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th2009 866 826 806 712 755 689 672 677 674 712 664 692 6062010 897 878 802 787 724 766 694 686 688 780 667 625 6002011 901 874 872 820 814 731 777 727 716 750 688 679 6662012 934 916 849 857 811 832 724 807 755 763 736 699 6762013 996 914 894 877 864 829 823 762 840 779 745 733 6562014 962 968 936 928 902 880 825 860 782 846 778 720 679

https://www.sde.idaho.gov/site/statistics/fall_enrollment.htm

• There are 900 students in K-4th Grade• 800 Students between 5th and 9th Grade• 700 Students each grade between 10th and 12th Grade

The growth bubble will hit the Middle School long before it hits the High School

New Middle School Advantages

• Cost significantly less money• Can be bonded without a tax increase• Can be built a year faster than a High School• If 9th grade moves back to Middle Schools the high schools will have

25 percent more space, which will ease the burden on the High Schools.