RATHDRUM — Tucked down a long driveway among tall pines off Meyer Road between Lancaster Road and Highway 53 in Rathdrum is North Idaho STEM Charter Academy.

In slacks, skirts, collars and ties, roughly 550 K-12 students dress as professionally as their teacher and faculty counterparts. Their heads are upright, eyes not buried in screens as the school has upkept a no-phone policy since it opened fall 2012. 

While it is a school that ventures further into science, technology, engineering and mathematics than traditional public schools, STEM Charter does business in a much more traditional fashion than many would expect. 

Executive Director Scott Thomson founded the school with his wife, Director of Instruction Colleen Thomson, after they both worked several years in public education. The main philosophy that drives the school hangs on a large banner in Scott's office: “Work hard. Be nice.” 

Top of the class

North Idaho STEM Charter Academy is No. 1 in Idaho elementary schools and No. 1 in Idaho middle schools, according to new data from U.S. News and World Report, a media company that publishes news, rankings and analysis.

STEM Charter's 2025 math and English language arts proficiencies are 91.9% and 95.6%, respectively, far above the statewide proficiency of 53.2% in English language arts and 42.3% in math, according to Idaho Standards Achievement Test data released Aug. 26 by the Idaho Department of Education.

Although it has consistently been a top performer the entirety of its existence, test results and high scores are not the central focus of the school.

“They’re a byproduct of what we do as our mission,” Secondary Program Director Deb Pence said Sept. 10, "but it’s a delightful consequence that comes from the work that we do.”

A curated culture

Pence said that although it is a STEM school, not every student is STEM-minded.

“We have kids who come here and art is their jam, or music’s their jam. They have a lot of different interests,” she said. “I think our culture and our environment tends to draw people in more than the subject matter."

That culture, which has been in place since the doors opened, is steeped in old-school values — no personal cell phones, no profanity, no bullying, business casual dress code, teachers and students practicing kindness and respect.

"It’s got to be a safe place, a productive place and a place where every kid has a right to learn without being interrupted. No one has a right to interrupt any child’s education. And no one has the right to interrupt anyone’s teaching," Thomson said. “Everyone wants a magic curriculum — there’s no such thing. It’s about time on task, it’s about being able to teach kids and not worrying about other factors, social or otherwise. The cell phones and the dress code are two big pieces of that.” 

Four days, no phones since day one

No phones on campus? No problem for STEM Charter kids.

"It's always been normal to me," said junior Ellie Freeman, who has been at the school since fourth grade.

Senior Cohen MacLeod went to public school in Seattle and in the Lakeland Joint School District before enrolling at STEM Charter in fourth grade. He said the no-phone policy is out of the ordinary when he discusses it with his friends who go to school elsewhere, but it's always been the way things are at STEM Charter.

"I was never exposed to the high school experience that included phones, so when I came here and it was a no-phones policy, I was like, 'OK, this is what I've been doing for the past four years,' and it was normalized," he said. "I didn't really think about it until the past two years, when across the nation a lot of school districts started to ban phones because of distractions."

"Plus, the coursework here is so engaging," said junior Adley Garwick. "It takes a lot of time so you want to use as much of class as you can."

Thomson said 13 years ago, STEM Charter leaders knew cell phones didn't belong in school.

"There’s no educational value to a cell phone that you can’t not just duplicate but enhance with a Chromebook or a laptop. And we can do that in a way that’s safe for students, that’s not a distraction," he said. “We’re not anti-technology, we just don’t need the distractions during the school day.”

Pence said it’s delightful to see kids interacting during lunchtime and breaktime.

"They talk to adults and look them in the face," she said. "What we hear from people in the community is that our kids tend to be really great at communicating ... You don’t get that way without having opportunities to practice that.” 

The Monday-through-Thursday school week has also been in place since the start. Fridays are used for professional development and staff meetings.

"I love it," said Ellie, who usually spends Fridays working at the Local Deli.

School days go from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Classes are a bit longer and the homework load can be heavy.

"We have a study hall, and we usually have time in class to work on it," Ellie said. "It's really all about how you manage your time. Some people don't use their time in class and they end up with six hours of homework a night ... you just learn to manage your time well."

Two teachers are STEM Charter grads

Paige Daniels of Rathdrum is one of two graduates who returned to teach at STEM Charter. She graduated from the school in 2018, simultaneously receiving her high school diploma and associate degree from North Idaho College through the high school dual-enrollment program, then continuing to pursue elementary education at Whitworth University.

Daniels began her journey with STEM Charter in seventh grade after going to Post Falls and virtual schools through elementary and sixth grades.

"This school opened up, so my mom gave me a choice," she said. "I've always been interested in science."

Going from public school to a rigorous charter was a change, but Daniels said STEM Charter wasn't strict — it offered more structure.

"I felt like the teachers knew me and I knew all the teachers. It was a very personal relationship, and they knew me as an individual," she said. "I also knew the grade above me and below me. We all knew each other; it was more like a family. And at that time, there was only one class per grade level."

While at NIC and Whitworth, Daniels student taught at traditional public schools.

"They weren't bad," she said, "but it was an eye-opening experience for me of what STEM has is very special, the culture they've created. All the teachers are happy to be here. We're all what we call the 'STEM Family,' it just makes it a great place to work. Having that structure where the focus is just on teaching, I didn't find that anywhere else."

The starting salary for new teachers is $50,252, the state minimum. STEM Charter's teachers are given bonuses for performing well and salaries are based on a career ladder, just like other schools, but for Daniels, STEM Charter is not like other schools.

"Having the freedom to be able to teach how we want to teach, finding ways to connect to the students ... it's not a school where you're just reading out of a teacher manual," Daniels said. "The lessons some of these teachers do are just amazing and creative."

Parent perspective

Cohen's dad, Jason MacLeod, heard about STEM Charter when the family moved to Rathdrum.

"They expect a lot out of the kids, they treat them with a lot of respect and the teachers treat them the same way – students and faculty each treat each other with a lot of respect and it's mutual," he said. "I think it creates really mature kids."

The heavy homework load, especially for the middle schoolers, is a downside, he said.

"I've talked to other parents who have pulled their kids out before high school," he said. "Cohen was never really into sports, but if kids are into sports and extracurriculars, it would create an insurmountable time crunch; there’s so many projects on top of everything else."

The school doesn't offer sports, so that doesn't serve the interest of athletic kids, MacLeod said.

However, he said STEM Charter is a really tight-knit, caring school.

"They really care about the kids, the families and individuals. They're great with communication," MacLeod said. "It’s been an awesome experience for us."

    North Idaho STEM Charter sixth grader Ahlanna Torrieri follows along in music class Sept. 11.
  

    Tenth grader and teacher's aide Simryn Pooni works with kindergartner Reef Fallquist during class Sept. 11 at North Idaho STEM Charter Academy in Rathdrum.
  

    North Idaho STEM Charter Academy students show off the many awards they earned when they came in first place at the 2024 Idaho Envirothon, which was held in Challis, Idaho. From left: Nicolas Gronlund, Micah Collins, Colton Burnside, Jessalyn Myers and Keira Barnhart.
  

    FIRST Lego League robotics team Los Cuatro Amigos members Reagan Smith, left, Kaylee Barnhart and Emmett Hernandez demonstrate how to run a mission on a robotics board at North Idaho STEM Charter Academy in February 2024. The then-eighth graders represented Idaho at the FIRST Championship in Houston that year.
  

    Students walk to their next class Sept. 11 at North Idaho STEM Charter Academy. The Rathdrum school has been a top performer since it opened 13 years ago and has recently been named No. 1 for Idaho elementary and middle schools by U.S. News and World Report.