Idaho Building Capacity Project (IBC)

The Idaho Building Capacity (IBC) Project partners with Idaho school and district leaders to build sustainable, collaborative and data-driven systems that strengthen teaching, leadership and student achievement. IBC Capacity Builders work alongside teachers, school leaders and teams to identify needs, build organizational capacity and implement effective, research-based practices that support meaningful and lasting school improvement.

Through high-quality coaching, consulting and mentoring, the Idaho Building Capacity Project helps school districts strengthen leadership, instructional practices and systems for continuous improvement, with the success of all students at the center of our work.

The Idaho Building Capacity Project began as a pilot program in 2008. Over the last 18 years, our mission has remained steadfast, serving as a cornerstone of Idaho's Statewide System of Support for schools identified for improvement by Idaho Department of Education. Today, the Idaho Building Capacity Project proudly serves 32 school districts and 36 schools, supported by three Regional Coordinators and 25 Capacity Builders.

Three foundational focuses

IBC’s work with Idaho schools and districts centers on three areas essential to sustainable school improvement:

• Leadership systems
• Curriculum, instruction and assessment
• Data-driven decision-making

IBC has built a strong statewide reputation as a high-performing team united by our mission, vision, values and goals. Through collaborative partnerships with school and district leaders, IBC works to build the capacity schools need to sustain improvement over time.

• Mission
  • IBC partners with school and district leaders to build and implement sustainable systems needed to raise student achievement and exit school improvement status.
• Vision
  • Every Idaho school is equipped to sustain excellent teaching and learning independently.
• Values
  • Trust, integrity, servant leadership and collaboration
• Goals
  • High student achievement
  • By the end of Cohort III, 100% of IBC schools will meet or exceed Idaho Department of Education’s exit criteria.

Building leadership capacity

By the end of Cohort III, 100% of IBC schools will have an operational school leadership team that meets the established performance standard on the IBC Leadership Team Rubric.

Sustainable continuous improvement

By the end of Cohort III, 100% of IBC schools will have an established continuous-improvement system through which the school leadership team implements, monitors, evaluates and adjusts the school improvement plan using student achievement and implementation data.

Why this works

Effective school leadership teams and sustainable continuous-improvement systems increase a school's likelihood of raising student achievement and successfully exiting school improvement status. By developing leadership capacity and establishing systems for using data to guide decisions, IBC helps Idaho schools build the structures needed to support continuous improvement and sustain progress over time.