Parent Corner
Welcome to the Parent Resource for Idaho Public Education! This page offers helpful links and content for the parents and guardians of students in Idaho public schools.
Browse the Parent Corner
My Family
Each Family is Unique
This page offers links to resources for families of early learners, families in Special Education, American Indian families, and migrant families.
My School
Choosing & Connecting
This page offers support in school choice, locating information about any public school in Idaho, and communicating to school personnel.
Driver Education
New Drivers
This page offers a link to our Idaho State Department of Education Driver Education resource page. Let’s get your young driver safely on the road!
Health & Safety
Support & Guidance
This page offers resources on mental and emotional health from school and community. You will also find informative material on internet safety.
College and career
Prepare for the Future
Do your child’s next steps include college, technical training or career? Find the resources you need to guide them on their path beyond high school.
Laws and legislation
Education is in Session
This page offers links to the latest educational legislation. It also provides links to standards, the Parental Rights Bill, and Empowering Parents program.
Understanding Idaho's Advanced Opportunities Program
This webinar provides an in-depth look into Idaho’s Advanced Opportunities program, designed to remove financial barriers for students pursuing post-high school education and career training. Presenters Helen Savage and Rebecca Matucci discuss the various opportunities available through the program, including overload courses, dual credits, and career and technical education funding. They explain how to access funds, describe the goals of the program, and provide guidance on making the best use of available resources.
Youth Suicide Prevention in Idaho: Resources and Strategies
Hannah Crumrine, the Youth Suicide Prevention Coordinator at the Idaho Department of Education, presents an overview of suicide prevention efforts, resources, and statistics within Idaho. The presentation covers important terminology, Idaho-specific data, the concept of upstream prevention, and evidence-based practices. Various resources and training options are shared to support parents, educators, and guardians in preventing youth suicide.
You will find links to resources in the description field of the video on YouTube.
Summer Food Service Program Webinar
This webinar discusses the Summer Food Service Program, a program that aims to ensure no child goes hungry during the summer months. It covers the importance of nutrition and resources for locating meal sites during the summer break.
Parents or students can visit the USDA’s Find Meals for Kids map here and enter their address or zip code to find the summer meal site nearest to them. Families can also find the nearest summer meal site by calling the Idaho Care Line at 2-1-1.
Career Exploration: A Motivator for Student Success
It is never too early to start talking to your student about goals! Teaching your child how to research careers is a lifelong skill that will benefit them as they make choices for after high school and navigate the ever-changing world of work. In this fun and engaging session, you will learn about free online resources for engaging your student in career exploration and discover conversational methods for helping your student turn new interests into motivators for success.
News from the Idaho Department of Education and the Superintendent of Public Instruction:
2024 State of K-12 Idaho Education
Superintendent of Public Instruction, Debbie Critchfield, delivers data and mission statements for public education in Idaho.
“Thank you for joining me on this journey to an ever more empowered and educated Idaho citizenry.”
Take a listen! The Idaho Department of Education's new podcast, "The Super in 10," is hosted by Superintendent of Public Instruction Debbie Critchfield and offers valuable insight for Idaho families.
Episode 1: Idaho State Police Director, Col. Kedrick Wills offers insight into a very real threat to our youth, “one pill can kill.”
Episode 2: The conversation continues about the fentanyl danger on the rise in Idaho.
Episode 3: “The most important piece of data is sometimes one of those that the parent doesn’t see.” Chief Deputy Superintendent Ryan Cantrell discusses how learning is measured in the modern classroom.
Episode 6: “We want to be connecting families with those local/regional supports,” Hannah Crumrine, Youth Suicide Prevention Coordinator. More resources available here.
Episode 7: Learn about the summer food service program initiative to feed Idaho kids! “We’re looking for other community partners,” Superintendent of Public Instruction Debbie Critchfield. “Just show up and get a meal as long as it’s a child between 1 and 18,” Lynda Westphal, Child Nutrition Programs Director.
Episode 15: From graduation requirements to well-being surveys, listen to become informed on department initiatives that impact families and students. “We want that diploma to matter; we need it to mean something,” Superintendent of Public Instruction Debbie Critchfield.
Announcements!
The Idaho Department of Education offers an outline of the various school choice options available to families.
School Flexibility in Idaho can take on many forms as families make the right choice for their children. This resource offers an overview of the many school choice options and the flexibility with each one. This information is also available on the “My School” page.
Critchfield: Expanding Parents' Role in Education through Productive Parent-Teacher Conferences
(BOISE) – There are many important events, activities and milestones that take place in classrooms and schools every year. In my opinion, there are few more important than the conversations teachers and parents have, formally, twice a year at parent-teacher conferences. November is one of the months when time is set aside during the school week to discuss needs, progress, achievement, challenges and opportunities to support learning and growth.
I have been an advocate of meaningful discussions between these two critical parties. These conferences should be a conversation, not a one-sided visit. Teachers want to listen, not just talk, and parents need to come prepared for the conversation. For years, I have offered suggestions to parents on how to make this meeting matter:
First, I’d suggest that parents prepare ahead of time to make the most of this valuable opportunity.
They can start this process by having a conversation with their child. How does the student think they are doing in school? What are things they like about the class or classroom and what do they wish the teacher knew about them? Are they engaging socially, and how do they feel about their peers? Coming ready to discuss how their child learns and grows best gives teachers the tools to make meaningful progress with them in the classroom.
I would suggest that parents keep in mind that conferences aren’t just for struggling kids or those who need extra help. Advanced and high-performing students deserve the same level of attention to their academic needs as a student who needs extra help or interventions.
We also see a great deal of family participation at the elementary school level, but that interaction drops off significantly through junior high and high school. However, our students don’t lose the need for parental involvement in their academic success. Needs and communication levels may change over time, but older kids need their parents to engage throughout their academic careers.
Consistent, constructive conferencing creates the communication framework needed to best support the three prongs of student success: the teacher, who is the expert in the classroom; the parent, who is the expert on the child; and the student, who owns a responsibility to actively participate in their own learning. This recipe has proven results when each part fulfills their role.
These respective roles require different supports and all need the unifying threads of engagement and communication that face-to-face conferencing helps establish. When we come to the table for productive discussions on behalf of kids, we foster meaningful relationships between parents, teachers and schools. This pays dividends for students and school communities.
Finally, I’d suggest that parents see conferences as their invitation to expand their role in the educational process and their child’s success. The local nature of the educational landscape was created to provide parents input on curriculum, policies, procedures, budgets and more. Let’s not overlook the pivotal role a parent-teacher discussion plays at the most fundamental level: the individual child.
The Idaho Department of Education offers new Special Education Resources for Parents and Guardians!
The new pocket guides are quick, easy references for parents and guardians to use from the beginning of the Special Education conversation to the actual IEP meeting. Access the guides on the “My Family“ page under “Families of Students in Special Education.”
Critchfield: Let’s Come to the Table for Special Education in Idaho
By Superintendent of Public Instruction Debbie Critchfield
(BOISE) – Idaho teachers and education leaders work to ensure that all students have the educational services they need to achieve academic success. There are many factors that go into determining what that work looks like. In some cases, supporting a student’s needs requires additional help.
When needed, students who need special education services can tap into additional assistance to support their unique academic needs. Accessing these supports can be complex – even overwhelming – especially for parents encountering the system for the first time. More and more, we see parents turning to teachers and school administrators for help in this arena, and like parents, school employees also need knowledge and support to be effective.
I recently hosted a listening session and asked Idaho parents to share their experiences and hopes for how our state, districts and charters could better support their child and lessen the fear of navigating the special education system. Parents said they want the knowledge and know-how to take a lead role in effectively advocating for their child while receiving support from an involved educational community.
The day after hearing from parents, I listened to special education teachers, directors and leaders. They shared frustrations with being understaffed and feeling underprepared for managing changes in students’ academic needs and behavioral health.
Feedback from educators also focused on preparation and professional development for all teachers, not just those who specialize in special education. Whether it’s through the certification process, student teaching or mentoring, there are opportunities for us to shore up training for the adults who work with our children.
Both sessions suggested the same thing: there are some immediate things we can do to help both parents and educators.
We’re creating valuable guides to aid families when they need direction on where to start. These guides will also provide tips and information for what to expect and bring to the table when talking with school officials. Reinforcing to parents that they are the final say in their child’s education and that schools are there to provide the needed resources helps foster trust and confidence in what schools can do.
I will also be leading a work group discussion at the State Board of Education meeting in August to discuss how we train, prepare and support all of our teachers around special education.
We have one focus when we talk about special education and how it serves Idaho’s kids: providing the right supports to help each child flourish. This means that parents need to feel empowered to advocate for their child and educators need to feel empowered because they have the proper preparation and adequate support to get the job done.
I’m eager to see what this important work will mean for students and families in Idaho and I can’t think of a better way to start than reinforcing that parents are the experts on their child and the professional educator is the expert on the classroom.
Artificial Intelligence in Idaho Classrooms: Friend or Foe?
By Superintendent of Public Instruction Debbie Critchfield
When it comes to technological advancements, the speed of change sometimes feels lightning fast. Most of us have clear memories of what life was like before Google and smartphones. Some may argue it was better/easier then, but we can agree that things that once seemed out of reach are now normal parts of life. Using phones alone as an example, technology has taken them from rotary to tiny computers and so much more.
With Artificial Intelligence, we again engage in another change in how we interact with technology, and we may all have feelings about what is to come. After all, AI is capable of simulating human intelligence, mimicking our problem-solving skills, artistic talents and even our emotions. It’s exciting, but it also brings a degree of anxiety and discomfort over the unknown.
When parents and educators talk to me about the advancement of AI and its influence in education, most are unsure how to feel. If we talk about it as a tool to improve life-saving medical procedures or to further our knowledge of space, many feel secure in its role as a tool for good. But, when we talk about AI’s presence in the classroom, many feel anxious over what that may look like. Though we are at the beginning of these types of changes, I would like to share my thoughts on what we know, what we think and how we plan for where we go when it comes to this fast-moving technology.
What we know is that AI is around us, and it’s here to stay. We know that AI is already a factor in many workplaces and that many employers are evaluating what it will mean for their daily operations.
We also know that students are already interacting with AI on their own, especially our middle and high school students.
So what do we think? Because we don’t yet have the benefit of hindsight, we must look to the future. I’m in the camp that thinks we can make AI a constructive part of learning. Some of our teachers are already doing this. When used appropriately, I believe that AI can be a tool for both students and teachers. I think considering what AI can bring to the educational sphere is the best first place to start. This means we will need to train and support teachers in how they use it and teach students responsible usage – like any other digital content available at school.
So where are we going and how do we plan for it?
It’s not hard to believe that we’re headed to a future where employers will expect competitive applicants to have experience with AI. I believe our preparation for kids should include experiences for students with guidance using this tool so we will best position them to be successful with it in the future.
I’d like to encourage educators and parents to familiarize themselves with the basic concepts of how AI works. I’m learning myself! Then take time guiding students through what you’ve learned. Find out what it can do and cannot do, and share your discoveries.
Any changes to the learning landscape provide us an opportunity to discuss and understand impacts to Idaho’s schools and students and AI will be no different.
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