Within Reach

IBE partners with the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco to launch a pilot go-on project called Within Reach in the Idaho Falls and Nampa school districts. We know from senior exit surveys that the people who most influence a students decision to go on or not to a postsecondary education opportunity are family members.

IBE and the Federal Reserve will focus the project on employees, emphasizing to parents, grandparents, and guardians how they must be full partners in their childrens education. The project will also ask employers to emphasize the importance of children attending postsecondary to obtain a credential that leads to a good career.

IBE, the Federal Reserve, and participating school districts will work jointly on these lunch-and-learn messaging sessions. The Federal Reserve will assist with the development of a data analysis tool that will be used to track the success of the projects. We expect the Federal Reserve-IBE-School Districts project to last a minimum of five years. If we are successful in moving the go-on rate in these school districts the project will be expanded to other Idaho school districts.

The grassroots collaboration between the Federal Reserve and IBE holds the promise of improving academic achievement for all students, thus setting them up for success in school, work, and life in their local communities, our state, and the world.