Adam — Introduced as the new page and invited to introduce himself.
Adam Blank — Introduced himself as a student from Caldwell who attends Parma High School and is an FFA member.
Dr. Ed Kates — Dr. Ed Kates is introduced as a representative from Kootenai Classical Academy and then identifies himself as the headmaster of the school in Post Falls, Idaho. He explains that the school was approved by the Idaho Public Charter School Commission in November 2021, construction began in December 2022, and the school opened in fall 2023. He also notes that the academy’s students recently won the Northwest spelling bee.
Dr. Cates — Addressed in a parent email praising the school visit and asking about the wait list.
Dr. Cates — Dr. Cates discussed the value and philosophy of classical education. He noted the charter school’s per-student cost, then moved into a broader defense of the classical model, saying it draws on the wisdom of great thinkers across civilizations and better addresses teenagers’ deep questions than public schools. He emphasized that education is fundamentally about human nature and proper formation: reason should govern appetite and passion, students should be disciplined and well formed before being given powerful tools, and education should ultimately order the human being toward wisdom and truth.
Ron Mendive — Ron Mendive is mentioned alongside other legislators as a supporter of the school.
Tony Wisniewski — Tony Wisniewski is mentioned as one of several supporters of the school, alongside Ron Mendive, Dale Hawkins, and Senator Ben Taves.
Tony Wisniewski — Representative Wisniewski reflected on earlier debates over social-emotional learning and said he had long advocated for stronger character and virtue development in schools. He argued that public education, especially the non-charter system, is not doing enough to build moral formation, and connected that deficiency to broader societal problems such as crime, recidivism, and the high cost of corrections. He concluded by quoting Frederick Douglass to emphasize that it is better to raise strong children than to repair broken adults.
Dale Hawkins — Dale Hawkins is mentioned as one of several legislators who have been strong supporters of the school.
Dale Hawkins — Referenced as the chair in the ongoing committee discussion.
Dale Hawkins — Addressed as Mr. Chairman Hawkins and thanked for committee service.
Clint Hostetler — Thanked the doctor, praised the school model, said he wished there were more schools like it, and asked what could be done to create more.
Clay Handy — Asked whether any public schools have adopted the Hillsdale curriculum.
Jack Nelsen — Representative Jack Nelsen asked a follow-up question rooted in Aristotle’s ideas about balance, pressing the speaker on why the school appears to emphasize sports over music and seeking the rationale behind that choice.
Jack Nelsen — Representative Nelson is called on by the chair, then included in a broader address to committee members, and finally referenced for having just raised or alluded to the SMART program, indicating a continuous discussion centered on his input.
Kent Marmon — Asked why some public school districts were not interested in using the Hillsdale curriculum.
Douglas Pickett — Representative Hostetler transitioned into questioning and asked for the estimated cost per student.
Barbara Ehardt — Representative Ehardt thanked the chair and then shifted into a discussion about education, saying she is sorry she missed the earlier exchange and asking the witness to comment on the idea that high school education has become overly focused on preparing students for jobs. She argued that this is not the true purpose of education and said she has been advocating against that approach. The surrounding remarks continued the same education theme, with later comments agreeing with Representative Ehardt’s view that the current education model should be rethought.
Barbara Ehardt — Barbara Ehardt asked about collaboration with BYU-Idaho and BYU on literacy work and followed up by noting that such collaboration could provide more experimentation and flexibility. Later, the discussion returned to her earlier question as part of the broader conversation about teacher preparation.
James Woodward — Mentioned as someone the speaker expected to be present.
Mrs. Brown — The next witness or speaker is introduced as Mrs. Brown.
Dr. Sally Brown — Introduced herself as an associate professor at the College of Idaho and representative of the Idaho Higher Education Literacy Partnership.
Whitney Ward — Identified as a colleague from NNU present for the presentation.
Carolyn Court — Identified as a colleague from BSU present for the presentation.
Dr. Brooke Blevins — Referenced as having recently outlined her group's work and noted the committee's work at I-HELP.
Dr. Brown — Dr. Brown was asked whether the committee is moving in the right direction on literacy policy. In response, he said that teaching reading and writing is complex and difficult, and emphasized that teacher preparation must continue into the first year.