Critchfield visits Moscow Charter

On Friday, Idaho’s head of public education visited Moscow to tour the state’s first and longest-serving charter school.

Moscow Charter School staff and students showed off their classrooms for Superintendent of Public Instruction Debbie Critchfield.

She headed up to the Palouse after an invitation from Moscow Charter School Administrator Tony Bonuccelli, who praised Critchfield for valuing charter schools in a state where the focus on school choice has increased.

Critchfield said there is a misconception that charter schools are not public schools, and she wants to send the message that Idaho supports them. She said charter schools are required to earn a performance certificate, which sets a high standard for them to meet.

“They’re owed a level of attention and support,” she said.

Bonuccelli emphasized that Moscow Charter School, which was established in 1998, has a strong partnership with the Moscow School District, and Critchfield echoed this sentiment by saying this partnership is a “great model” for those kinds of relationships.

Critchfield toured nearly all of the classrooms in the K-8 school with the help of students Quinn Rokyta, 11, and Bonuccelli’s 10-year-old son, Gavin Bonuccelli.

Along the way she met with eighth-graders Elliot Tanner-Downey and Liam Nasypany, who showed off the lego robots that are used for the school’s robotics team.

Tanner-Downey told Critchfield he likes engineering because it is about “finding different ways to improve on things.” He said robotics is an activity that makes math useful.

English and language arts teacher Macy Swift told Critchfield she is training to teach students with dyslexia. Swift said she believes children should be screened for dyslexia through middle school and emphasized the importance of teacher aids who can help those students improve their reading skills.

Critchfield also toured Moscow Charter School’s science classroom and the classroom where they learn life skills like cooking, sewing and budgeting. She also toured the elementary building where students were using artwork, tablets and robots to learn.

Critchfield was in the area to give the Idaho Teacher of the Year award to Orchards Elementary teacher Heidi Cornell in Lewiston.

Kuipers can be reached at akuipers@dnews.com.