This week, we are excited to profile Nanette Merrill, extraordinary new executive director of the Idaho Charter School Association.
Nanette Merrill originally entered the workforce with a job in accounting. When she had children, she decided to press pause on her accounting career and be at home with her kids. She ended up staying home for 17 years. In that time, she figured out a key piece of math:
“I learned very quickly that schools had more waking hours with my kids than I did,” she said. “I wanted to have a classroom where parents knew their child was loved and taken care of, knowing that I had more time with them than they did. That drove me into education.”
When she re-entered the workforce, she did so as a teacher.
“I just absolutely loved teaching,” Nanette said.
It showed—she was named Oregon Teacher of the Year for the 2012-13 school year.
‘I really missed teaching’
After winning Oregon Teacher of The Year, Nanette moved into school administration. It wasn’t her favorite.
“I honestly didn’t love it. It took me away from what I love—teaching. I loved the staff, I loved the students, but all the other things, I really didn’t. I really missed teaching,” she said.
Nanette learned about Gem Prep—a K-12 charter school network in Idaho. She didn’t know much about charter schools, but the thought of getting more classroom time was appealing to her.
“They use their administrators as instructional coaches. That meant I got to spend 75% of my day coaching teachers and really having a strong pulse on teaching and learning,” she said. “I really missed teaching. So, the win when I came to Idaho was that I got to do both. I got to lead a building and be a teacher of teachers. I really loved that.”
Nanette founded Gem Prep Meridian in 2018 and Gem Prep Meridian North in 2021.
“I didn’t really know anything about charters before I came to Idaho. And then I was a charter leader for 7 years,” she said. “I liked how families could pick the best venue for their child. What a sacrifice for that parent to find the best fit for their child even if it was in a bunch of different buildings.”
Idaho charter school success
Gem Prep is just one example of Idaho charter schools seeing great success. It’s the largest network in the state, operating eight schools with two more planned by 2027. In addition to growing, its schools are posting some strong academic results.
“The organization that I was with was really delivering some high-quality education. I started looking at data in the state of Idaho and seeing that many of the charter schools were at the top of performance in the state. I wondered why,” Nanette said. “I think the biggest thing was that charter schools have all these different pathways whether it’s CTE or college prep or classical—they have this focus. Their north star. It drives what they do and really targets an audience and a need for certain children.”
Across Idaho, charter schools have seen serious growth.
Jed wrote about charter school expansion in the state back in 2023 and we profiled Monica White from Idaho’s Elevate Academy back in April. Idaho itself is one of the fastest-growing states in the country.
“Idaho is doing things right now that have not been done in other states—and they’re working,” Nanette said.
Establishing an association
Despite the success and growth, there was no member association for Idaho’s charter schools. Bluum, a nonprofit “go-to resource” that develops and supports high-quality public charter schools, was well-established and played a critical role in boosting charter school successes. And it had the Idaho Charter School Network, a 501(c)(4) that could lobby and work in electoral politics.
With the launch of the Idaho Charter School Association (ICSA) this year, a gap can be bridged—the association will be providing training and connection for charter school leaders, as well as advocating on behalf of Idaho charter schools.
ICSA named Nanette its executive director in May.
“I just am really excited about this role. It’s terrifying at the same time. But there are a lot of amazing state charter organizations that are supporting me and helping me learn. That’s what I love about the charter sector. No one is trying to do things on their own,” she said. “People really do want you to be successful because we are all striving for the same thing, and ultimately that’s high-quality education for students.”
Nanette, who once knew very little about charter schools, is now a champion. And she believes in advocacy as a means of boosting access to that high-quality education for students.
“People have these misconceptions and just like anything else, when people don’t know the story, they’re going to make up their own story,” she said. “The louder we can show and share what’s being done, the stronger the movement. Advocacy is super important.”