IEN Provides Unprecedented Educational Opportunities to Students across Idaho

On Monday, Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Luna provided legislators with an update on the progress of the Idaho Education Network.

The state is halfway into a three-year project of connecting every public high school and college and university to the Idaho Education Network (IEN), a high-speed, secure intranet system that gives students access to unprecedented educational opportunities.  The process of connecting all schools began in Fall 2009.

Superintendent Luna presented the update on the IEN to the November meeting of the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee.

At the end of September 2010, Superintendent Luna reported, 66 high schools were connected to the IEN and 73 were in the process, leaving 57 high schools remaining to be connected statewide.

The high schools that have been connected to date are from urban and rural communities in every region across Idaho. Just half-way through the project, Idaho students are already taking advantage of the many opportunities available through the IEN.

Students are taking courses never offered at their school before and earning college credits through dual credit classes.

Students in several rural high schools are now taking Calculus II from a math teacher in Meridian, for example.  The number of college credits high school students have earned since the IEN rolled out last year has increased from 180 to more than 1,300 – in just one year.

Learn more about the IEN and the progress schools are making statewide.

~ Melissa M.