Project Impact STEM Academy in Meridian

Category	Rating	Details
Test Scores	6/10	The Test Score Rating examines how students at this school performed on standardized tests compared with other schools in the state. The Test Rating was created using 2025 Idaho Standards Achievement Tests (ISAT) data from Idaho State Department of Education.
College Readiness	1/10	The College Readiness Rating uses this high school's graduation rates, college entrance exam participation and performance, or AP, IB, or Dual Enrollment participation to determine how well schools are preparing students for success in college and beyond. The College Readiness Rating was created using the following data from the 2021 Civil Rights Data Collection: percentage of students enrolled in IB, AP or Dual Enrollment classes in grades 9-12, using 2022 SAT percent college ready data from Idaho State Department of Education, using 2025 4-year high school graduation rate data from Idaho State Department of Education, and using 2025 demographic data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Student Growth	5/10	The Student Progress Rating measures whether students at this school are making academic progress over time based on student growth data provided by the Department of Education. Specifically, this rating looks at how much progress individual students have made on state assessments during the past year or more, how this performance aligns with expected progress based on a student growth model established by the state Department of Education, and how this school's growth data compares to other schools in the state. The Growth Rating was created using 2025 Percentage of students meeting growth target data from Idaho State Department of Education.

Posted: September 13, 2025

Project Impact Stem Academy is a school that I would not recommend. They are under a conditional charter currently due to lack of enrollment and funds. Last year the board had to vote on toilet paper purchases. The lease is up this year on the building. Special education is a joke. They find every excuse to not provide needed services to struggling children. Please stay far away from this mess. Your children will suffer academically.

Posted: December 16, 2024

Super inconsistent with everything! No communication, the principal has no idea what hes doing. Avoid at all costs!!!!!

Posted: December 16, 2024

Posted: October 23, 2024

My 6th grader and 2nd grader both attend PiStem. Prior to this school, they attended a school in our local district where, for 2 years, they were relentlessly bullied and ignored by staff. My kids HATED school. As an educator myself, it hurt to see how much they were missing and how little the staff and administration cared at the local school district school. We had been trying to enroll for the last 3 years with PiStem when this last year, both our kiddos were accepted. The new administration has done wonders for my kids! They LOVE school. They retain what they learn and can describe how it benefits them in the real world as well as how it connects with other subjects. Their interdisciplinary approach to learning with a STEaM focus is very well planned out and implemented. Teachers are highly educated and knowledgeable in their fields. Mr. Marshall, the new principal, is incredible. He gets to know all of the children and takes time out of his day to socialize with them and be a positive figure in their lives. I cannot say enough wonderful things about this school! I highly recommend PiStem!

Posted: October 1, 2024

My kid's have been at PISTEM for 6 years and are thriving. I have a kid in high school, 6th and my youngest started Kinder this year. Having all three kids at the same school has been amazing. With the school being a small charter it allows the teachers and staff to know the students and their families which creates a safe and welcoming environment. One thing I love that PISTEM offers is the option for full or half day Kindergarten. We started with half days and after 2 months my child switched to full days and loves it.

Posted: October 1, 2024

Posted: September 26, 2024

I have been involved with Project Impact STEM Academy for 4 years. I have enjoyed the energetic atmosphere, nurturing teachers, and overall excellence of the school.

Posted: September 26, 2024

Posted: September 24, 2024

I have a 2nd grader and a 1st grader who currently attend the school. The past two years we were attending a school within our local district. One of the biggest reasons we chose to look into other options was the lack of opportunity we felt our children were given to make their education their own. PiStem has opened doors in our kids education we never imagined. The teachers work hard to meet the students where they are but also encourage them to challenge themselves. Kids are given space to explore, engage, and make mistakes and they are celebrated when success happens. They put emphasis in critical thinking and problem solving to find a solution instead of memorizing one approach and repeating it. As a parent I appreciate that my kids are not only learning academics, but also skills needed to be successful in the workforce and in life! The teachers and administration at the school communicate well to each other and to you so you don't feel in the dark when it comes to the education and existing your child is having.
I could go on and on but I'll leave you with this, if you think traditional public schools are missing the mark or you're just looking for a school your child can thrive academically and socially/emotionally, I HIGHLY recommend giving PIStem some of your attention. They deserve it for the work their putting in to create solid little learners that will contribute great things to this world one day.

Posted: September 24, 2024

Posted: March 9, 2024

It saddens me to write this. When PiSTEM first opened, it was an amazing school. Then they gave her the principal role and it all went downhill from there. Half of the teaching staff left, the kids struggled with expectations that were extreme, and they never cared to even listen to parents concerns. The principal does NOT care about the students or the parents. Its sad and disgusting. Please do not let your children go here. There are plenty of other charter schools in the area that actually have administrators that care.

Posted: March 9, 2024

Posted: February 2, 2024

In my 7 years of experience in going to school, I have never seen a worse school. The administration does not care about any of the students that are above 3rd grade. In year 6, a boy in my class punched me in the face and ripped out a clump of my hair and nobody batted an eye. I tried to file a harassment report against him, however the administration didn't care enough to even print the paper. But when a 2nd grade boy was using the bathroom, someone turned the lights off on him and they scanned the entire school to find who did it. It makes me sick to think about to this day. Not to mention the special education system. My parents are trying to get me into the SPED system, but nobody cares to even come and talk to me about it. There has only been 1 expulsion in the past 3 years even though people have been caught vaping in the bathrooms multiple times and they get suspended for a few days and come back. The most they do is give them a clear backpack to wear to school just in case. I do not advise you to send your children here, it is quite terrible for their mental health. I have multiple other complaints, but I will not state them all as it is not worth your time. I am transferring in March, and I'm very happy about it because my mental health is very quickly lowering at this school.

Posted: February 2, 2024

Posted: January 25, 2023

This school is amazing! I couldnt imagine sending my kids to a traditional school model. Both of my children are really enjoying the new school building in Meridian, its huge! The teachers and staff are amazing here, they really know how to pull my reluctant 6th grader into loving what he is learning. My 2nd graders favorite subject is science because they do so many interesting experiments! A great school, I highly recommend!

Posted: January 25, 2023

Posted: January 23, 2023

I would recommend this school. My daughter started when they first open in Kuna that was 4 yrs ago.She started schooling here when she was Kindergarten. The teachers are great. They always communicate there is something going on with the kids.Plus they have activities after school like board games. Now both of my children are here. Dr. Hettinger was great,everytime I have some question or concerns she will get back to me as she can. Thank you PiStem for everything!!!! Keep up the good workGod bless you all!!!

Posted: January 23, 2023

Posted: January 22, 2023

My son was behind when he stared at PiStem and even though he still is a little, he has progressed so much in the last 1.5 yrs not only in academics but socially as well. The small class sizes and working with how each individual student learns helps our children achieve their goals. PiStem was the best decision I have ever made in any of my childrens education.

Posted: January 22, 2023

Posted: January 21, 2023

Project Impact Stem Academy moved to Meridian this year. They have moved out of portables into a two story building on Overland Road that gives the K - 12 school plenty of space to grow. went to a school open house in Meridian, Idaho the
other day. I volunteer at Project Impact Stem
Academy (a k-12 charter school) as their school
Librarian. It has been challenging and interesting so
far! I was truly impressed with the work the students
and teachers put into the open house! Wow! Wish I
had taken more pictures, but didn't want to invade
he privacy of youngsters, and there were
roungsters everywhere playing educational games
set up, or explaining different projects to their
parents, even a little girl and her mother taking an
"earth science" test in the hallway. The daughter
was explaining the different molded clay structures
like "butte', 'volcano', 'plateau', etc to her mom; or
the little boy explaining how tornadoes work to a
crowd of interested parents and kids, or the group of
giggling children making slime. I also ran into a
contest between two robots that had been created
by the students! The library I have been working on
getting organized was transformed into a display
area for science projects and posters created by
industrious children. It's good to see children building, learning, explaining what they have learned and taking pride in what they have learned!

Posted: January 21, 2023

Posted: January 20, 2023

Project Impact STEM Academy has been a Godsend to our family. My kids have thrived with the project-based curriculum that allows the kids to deep dive into content. I love that my kids are constantly challenged to think critically and approach problems with a growth mindset. My kids have developed a lot of grit and confidence in their ability to preserve, research and experiment with solutions until they achieve success. The teachers and staff have been so wonderful. It is so comforting to me to know that I am sending my kids off to a school where everybody knows and cares about my kids. My kids love their teachers and are so excited to tell me all about what they learned. This is our fourth year at the school and I couldn't be happier.

Posted: January 20, 2023

Posted: January 18, 2023

If you want your kid to be bullied by students and TEACHERS, this is the best school for you. A 6th grader was dragged by their hair across the play ground, the action that was taken? Suspension and the students were told "stay away from each other"
There was a shooting threat that the school, quote "didn't feel like it was serious enough to tell the parents" we were all told via Facebook by a group of junior high students at 10pm that night. And instead of the principal reaching out about her mistake, they brushed it under the rug by announcing that they bought a new building..... the kid that threatened this, is still going there.
Another mishap of communication, they had a "drill" that not a single teacher was privy to. So, kids crying, teachers panicking, kids coming home and talking about how traumatic is was. The email we got? Also at 10pm stating "we had a drill today, talk to your student about it" if you think sending your kid to a small school would help with communication, you are incorrect. In addition to that note, the teachers do not communicate with each other so be prepared to send your concerns to every single teach and faculty, or it won't be acknowledged.
If your kid is having any sort of emotions, expect them to be reprimanded and called names such as "drama, over reactive, liar and attention seeking"
Also don't expect them reach out to you if your student is struggling academicly, they will just wait until conferences when your child is absolutely failing, to say anything.
They honestly do not care about students, they only care about the students that are easy and quiet.
Don't expect your kid to have any sort of lunch break, it's so short that my kid would come with a full lunch box besides a half eaten sandwich and fruit. They rush them outside (which us now a lovely strip of unprotected black top like a prison) and if the last class ran late? Too bad, better scarf your food down if you don't want to be hungry for the rest of the day!
They have 2 busses for the entire meridian, kuna, Nampa area. Good luck on the drop off/pick up line as well because most of the parents think lines are beneath them and will zip around the line into oncoming exiting traffic, just so they can park and zip back out. And that's only if everyone puts their phone down long enough to see if the line has moved.
Only send your student here if you have absolutely no other choice.

Posted: January 18, 2023

Posted: January 10, 2023

Great place to send your kids where there is a smaller learning environment. One class per grade.

Posted: January 10, 2023

Posted: December 11, 2022

As a student that has been to PISTEM since it has opened, I have a good idea of what it is like there, 4-6 and 7-12 teachers are amazing towards anyone and they provide amazing mentor to student teaching, allowing students a amazing learning environment. I have learned a lot from PISTEM that I wouldn't from a regular school. It is very tightly nit when it comes to a community sense. I highly recommend PISTEM as a charter school. They offer lots of time for everyone individually creating a great sense of self worth. 10/10 school.

Posted: December 11, 2022

Posted: May 16, 2022

Project Impact STEM Academy is the best High School that I have ever attended, and as I am a Junior now, I will be going back there to complete my Senior year. You see, I have been homeschooled most of my life because none of the schools that I went to were able to adequately meet my needs. As a gifted ADHD child, no one had the proper accommodations for me; as they only were equipped to work with those that required special education programs. But, when I went to PiSTEM, they were able to fully meet my needs for learning and were able to keep me actively engaged in everything that I did. Even in Art class they were able to get me to do my very best, and I abhor most art classes. They pushed me to succeed, and because of that I will now be graduating High School next year with a STEM Diploma in addition to my High School Diploma, as well as an Associate's Degree in Liberal Arts. I firmly believe that if you wish for your child to grow and succeed, do not go for Kuna High School or the Kuna Middle School, go to PiSTEM because I know that they will help your child to learn and grow in the way that they need it most. They will learn your child' s learning language and work with them to help your child to be the best that they can be, and will not subject your child to the average school learning where you sit in a desk all day and hope that you get all the information you need for the next quiz. They have teachers that are professionals at what they do, and are fully capable of teaching your child in the way that your child learns best; whether that be hands-on learning, observational learning, learning by reading, or any other number of methods of learning. I highly recommend PiSTEM for any age K-12, and I look forward to returning there next school year! :)

Posted: May 16, 2022

Posted: May 26, 2021

This school is on a tiny stretch of land near a road where cars go over 40 mph...that's not very safe. The school is just a bunch of portables that look very bland on the outside. We were told they will be building a permanent building but we have yet to see any progress of that. There are no slides or any sort of playground equipment. The children just run around on a narrow patch of grass between the school and an overgrown-littered mess behind the school. Our child had to eat outside on the ground until they got picnic tables.

They started off on a rough start this year. We had to wait to get a laptop on the first day which did not work at first. The principal was hard to reach in the beginning and it was a little chaotic for us. Their special education director was helpful and communicative with us, we appreciated that. The teachers, God Bless them, seemed overworked and worn out.

I believe the teachers did well with the online portion of school this year. Our friends had a bit of difficulty in the district their kids went to so we appreciated all their hard work.

We also heard a rumor that the original principal is suing the school. We have concerns that this may also put the school in jeopardy. We want somewhere stable for our family and will not be returning.

Base	Distance
Gowen Field	8.9 mi.
Mountain Home AFB	46.1 mi.

Project Impact STEM Academy

Meridian, ID 83642

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