Beyond City Limits: Expanding Rural Education Opportunities in Idaho Article

While he doesn’t have a cape or a magic wand, when Mike Caldwell walks into an Idaho charter school, his superhero-like presence is welcomed. Overwhelmed school leaders who may feel alone and adrift, especially in less populated areas, breathe easier knowing they have someone on their side. Caldwell has been in their shoes and experienced those same feelings of uncertainty in a Idaho’s rural educational landscape.

After decades of serving as an Idaho teacher and administrator, Mike Caldwell decided to take on a new role in education. In the fall of 2023 he accepted a position as Bluum’s Director of Development and District Outreach.

Connecting with School Leaders

“Bluum brought Mike onto our team because he is an outstanding educator with roots in rural Idaho,” confirms Terry Ryan, Bluum’s Chief Executive Officer. “Bluum’s strategy is to offer families in smaller communities more choices in education. Charter schools will improve learning opportunities for all of our state’s children. We couldn’t think of anyone better to try and make this work than Mike Caldwell,” states Ryan.

The way Caldwell is greeted by school principals, one would think he had been doing this job for much longer than a year. He is welcomed like an old friend. School leaders immediately recognize him as someone they can trust. This incredible ability to create connections has always been Caldwell’s gift, forged by struggles during his early, nomadic childhood. When his family finally settled in Soda Springs, Idaho, in the spring of his fourth grade year, it was their 15th move.

“In the work we do, relationships are the foundation of everything else. It was really my experiences moving as a child that forced me to learn how to build relationships,” reflects Caldwell.

Caldwell and Bluum are essential partners with successful charter school models like the Alturas International Academies in Idaho Falls. Caldwell is currently working with them on opening a third school, in Rigby, Idaho, which will help meet the increasing demand for schools of choice in their region. 

In addition to expanding education choices for Idaho families, Caldwell also supports school leaders who are trying to save rural institutions from closing as populations shift to urban centers. In Hollister, Idaho, outside of Twin Falls, the district made the decision to close the small town’s only school, which would be a significant loss for the community. 

Bluum and Caldwell are currently supporting a local school leader, Julie Koyle, in her efforts to keep Hollister Elementary open under a charter. Koyle, who is not an educator by profession, benefits from Caldwell’s expertise as well as that of the entire Bluum team who offer guidance in all aspects of school administration.

Caldwell explains, “If new school leaders had to navigate the challenges of running everything on their own, having never led a school, they would be set up for failure, especially when they don’t have the backing of a district office. Bluum plays that role. We are a safety net to ensure these schools are successful.”

This relationship with leaders doesn’t end once the school doors are opened. It is critical that charters are able to sustain success and growth. Island Park Charter School opened in 2020, many years after the area’s only elementary school had closed. Through the hard work and dedication of the founder, Connie Day, the school is thriving. Caldwell and Bluum continue to be there, now helping Day and her team plan for the school’s growth as more and more families enroll.

Expanding Opportunities for Idaho Students 

Caldwell is no stranger to the challenges these schools face. Like many of the charter school leaders he now partners with, Caldwell began his career teaching in Garden Valley at a rural high school.

“There are many schools like Garden Valley across the state. These communities may be isolated to a certain extent and the school is so important for the students and the town…it’s the center,” Caldwell reflects.

Even before his teaching career, Caldwell understood firsthand the importance of educators in the lives of the children in these areas. While attending Soda Springs High School, he did not think higher education was for him. It was his guidance counselor who encouraged him to attend college and inspired him to enter education, beginning Caldwell’s successful career as a teacher, administrator, and leader in Idaho schools. 

Caldwell states, “While every community needs high-quality teachers, in the rural, small town schools, the students’ relationships with their teachers are so important because often they don’t have many influences outside of their own families and life experiences.”

As a teacher in Garden Valley, Caldwell provided his students exposure to college life as well as a variety of technical careers as a math teacher, the STEM coordinator, and overseeing the school’s Junior Engineering Technical Society (JETS). The participating JETS students were able to meet with and learn from local engineers, as well as having the opportunity to stay on college campuses during the competitions. 

“The coolest part was that, because of [the JETS] experience, many of those kids were exposed to engineering, and even if science or math wasn’t something they were originally interested in,” gushes Caldwell. “They had this new “bug” to go on to college and pursue those types of opportunities.”

Later, Caldwell brought this same enthusiasm and dedication to his jobs teaching at Bishop Kelly High School (BK) in Boise and with the Idaho Distance Learning Academy (IDLA). In both these positions, Caldwell was able to combine his knowledge of math and science with his passion for using technology in the classroom, a concept which was then ahead of its time. 

Walking the Leadership Walk

Caldwell eventually left teaching in 2008 to work with IDLA full time as their Director for Supervision and Development at IDLA. It was this experience which laid the foundation for his future successes as an administrator and as the Director of Development with Bluum. 

In his position with IDLA, Caldwell was able to meet with school leaders throughout the state and listen to them, engage in meaningful dialogue with them, and come to a deep understanding of what their needs were. From there he was able to determine the kinds of programs IDLA needed to create to meet those needs. 

As much as he thrived in this collaborative environment, something was missing for Caldwell. He explains, “I was meeting with school leaders without ever having sat in their seat. I knew the technology and I had taught in schools, but I’d never been in the position of having to make the really big decisions. I knew I needed to go do that job.”

In 2014, Caldwell left IDLA and accepted the position as principal for BK. “Until you’ve been in that seat, walked the walk, you really cannot completely comprehend the challenges,” Caldwell affirms.

After serving as a principal, Caldwell was better able to understand the challenges that school leaders face on a daily basis. He also experienced many unique situations which prepared him to guide charter school leaders. “Now, when I sit with a school leader, just about anything they come across I have had some experience in.This allows me to have empathy and a true listening ear,” says Caldwell.

Reflecting on the difficult high-wire act that school leaders are faced with on a daily basis, Caldwell adds, “As a school leader, you are constantly reevaluating and reprioritizing. You have to move the big ball forward while still juggling all of the little balls at the same time. It’s a tremendous challenge, and I get that.”

“We value the addition of Mike Caldwell to the BLUUM team,” states Hillary Betz, Program Officer with the J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Family Foundation (JKAF), which is partnering with Bluum to improve education throughout Idaho. “He, along with others on the BLUUM team, help our charter school students flourish.”

“Mike brings many years of experience and a variety of leadership positions in education. This combined with incredible skills as a listener, gives him a unique ability to understand the everyday problems school leaders are facing, added Betz.

“Being a new leader, or at least new to charters, is a lonely road to travel alone,” empathizes Caldwell. “I can’t imagine these smaller schools being able to start and then sustain themselves successfully without the supportive network that Bluum and JKAF have developed here in Idaho.”