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Project Impact Stem Academy

Q: Is Project Impact Stem Academy a good school?

Project Impact Stem Academy ranks 223 rd of 350 Idaho alternative schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Q: How many students attend Project Impact Stem Academy?

In the 2024-25 school year, 227 students attended Project Impact Stem Academy.

Q: What is the racial makeup of Project Impact Stem Academy?

Students at Project Impact Stem Academy are 85% White, 11% Hispanic, 3% Pacific Islander.

Public, Charter, Alternative Grades K-12

223^rd

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 350 Idaho Alternative Schools

Better than 36% of Idaho alternative schools

Summary

Project Impact Stem Academy is a small K–12 public charter school in Meridian, Idaho, serving 227 students and operating as its own single-school district, Project Impact Stem Academy Inc. Despite its STEM-focused name, academic results in recent years have been mixed. In the most recent testing year, proficiency fell below Idaho state averages in math (38.4% vs. 43.1%), science (34.4% vs. 42.7%), and English language arts (49.3% vs. 54.0%) — though in the two prior years, the school exceeded state averages in both math and science. With only 227 students spread across kindergarten through 12th grade, a small number of students can shift schoolwide percentages dramatically, which likely explains much of this year-to-year volatility.

Compared with nearby alternatives, the school sits in the middle of the pack. It clearly outperforms the lower-performing virtual programs in the region — Nampa Online Virtual Academy posted just 11.8% math proficiency and Wilder Academy of Virtual Education only 17.1%, while the school itself reached 38.4%. However, it trails far behind the area's top charters: Gem Prep: Meridian South, Gem Prep: Online School, and Compass Public Charter School all posted math proficiency above 72%, roughly 35 points higher. The school's strongest subject is English language arts, coming within about five points of the state average in the most recent year.

Chronic absenteeism is a persistent concern. Roughly one in five students is chronically absent — about five percentage points above the state average — and the rate has held near 19–20% for several years. The school does invest heavily in its students: its 14.1:1 student-teacher ratio is the lowest among nearby schools, and per-student spending of $9,449 tops Compass Public Charter School ($5,937) and Gem Prep: Meridian ($8,768). Yet this investment has not closed the gap with the highest-performing local charters. Graduation rates have also swung widely, from 62.5% in 2023–2024 to 82.5% in 2024–2025. Parents may want to watch whether the school can sustain its graduation gains, reduce absenteeism, and translate its high spending into more consistent academic growth.

227

Students ?

14.1

Student/teacher ratio ?

$9,449

Per pupil spending ?

39.3%

Free/discounted lunch ?

1422 S Tech Lane
Meridian, ID 83634

(208) 576-4811

District: Project Impact Stem Academy Inc.

Racial breakdown:

White:

84.6%

Hispanic:

11.0%

Pacific Islander:

2.6%

See top rated Idaho elementary schools

Compare Project Impact Stem Academy to nearby alternative schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 56th percentile in 2024 → 25th in 2026

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Idaho average (41% vs 47% meeting standards)

!Ranking has slipped — down 31 percentile points since 2024

!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school41%

District avg41%

Idaho avg47%

Elementary school

223^rd of 350

Idaho public elementary schools ?

Bottom 36%▼ down 20 pts since 2024

From top 44% (2024) to bottom 36% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Idaho Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

Middle school

132^nd of 177

Idaho public middle schools ?

Bottom 25%▼ down 37 pts since 2024

From top 37% (2024) to bottom 25% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Idaho Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Elementary school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Idaho percentile	Rating
2026	37.3	223 of 350	36.3%	★★☆☆☆
2025	64.1	103 of 337	69.4%	★★★☆☆
2024	53.7	133 of 301	55.8%	★★★☆☆

Middle school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Idaho percentile	Rating
2026	29.0	132 of 177	25.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	44.3	91 of 166	45.2%	★★☆☆☆
2024	53.4	61 of 164	62.8%	★★★☆☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

High school

Low Socio Economic Status (2024)49th percentile-9 vs school

Female (2024)36th percentile-21 vs school

Male (2024)33rd percentile-25 vs school

By subject vs Idaho (2025-2026) ?

English Language Arts49%-5 vs state

Math38%-5 vs state

Science34%-8 vs state

1.5

2 ratings · 2 written reviews

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2★1

1★1

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What people are saying

by a parent
Saturday, May 22, 2021

We have several children at PiSTEM and we will not be returning for the next school year. I do not feel the school leaders do enough to protect our kids from other abusive children. When one of our children complained their teacher wasn't teaching the teacher changed the work to something that was from several grade levels below them. We wanted or kids to be challenged there and at most we were challenged with patience. This school looked good at first but quickly soured. Close Quote

by a student
Tuesday, June 18, 2019

This school is terrible! The working environment is very small which means that it is also noisy. I know that in the 7th and 9th grade building none of the learning spaces have doors so it is hard to concentrate when you have 9th graders reading out loud in ELA and 7th graders taking a math test. The school doesn't even have electives, after school activities, or even a lunch break. In the 7th and 9th building the lunch time varies from what the teachers feel like and after lunch( again, whenever the teachers feel like teaching again) we go straight to learning, no recess or anything. If I could rate this school something lower than a 1 I would. I moved out of this school briefly after the first halve along with 3 other people who didn't like the school either. This school is loosing many people because of the schools issues. The school doesn't have a cafeteria, a library, or anything that comes to mind when you think of a well managed school. At this school, we use a program called summit learning. This program has articles to read to get you ready for the tests it makes you take. It also has assignments the teachers put on there. This program is not helpful because rather than having the teacher talk to the students about it, you just read and that can be hard sometimes. Finally, lets talk about math. My math teacher at this school literally has a answer key she puts on her desk for the students! I don't think this is okay because the students stop trying and start copying. I know it is normal for schools to have room for improvement but this one has to much room. I think that any school would have better learning abilities available than this one. Close Quote

Schools Near Project Impact Stem Academy

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking ()				Ranking ()				ISAT Math (2026)								ISAT Science (2026)				ISAT English Language Arts (2026)								Per Pupil Expenditures (2019)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients (2021)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score ()	Statewide Rank ()	State Percentile ()	SchoolDigger Rating ()	Average Standard Score ()	Statewide Rank ()	State Percentile ()	Rank Change from Previous Year	ISAT Math 3rd Grade	ISAT Math 4th Grade	ISAT Math 5th Grade	ISAT Math 6th Grade	ISAT Math 7th Grade	ISAT Math 8th Grade	ISAT Math End of Course	ISAT Math All Grades	ISAT Science 5th Grade	ISAT Science 8th Grade	ISAT Science End of Course	ISAT Science All Grades	ISAT English Language Arts 3rd Grade	ISAT English Language Arts 4th Grade	ISAT English Language Arts 5th Grade	ISAT English Language Arts 6th Grade	ISAT English Language Arts 7th Grade	ISAT English Language Arts 8th Grade	ISAT English Language Arts End of Course	ISAT English Language Arts All Grades	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Project Impact Stem Academy	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	1422 S Tech Lane	Meridian	83634	Ada County	Project Impact Stem Academy Inc.	Yes	No	(n/a)	Yes	(208) 576-4811	227	16	14.1	39.3%	192 (84.6%)	0 (0.0%)	25 (11.0%)	2 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (2.6%)	2 (0.9%)								(n/a)			37.5		37.5			38.4				34.4		50.0	50.0		43.8	50.0		49.3	$9,449	$577	$8,872
Gem Prep: Online School	Public, Charter, Alternative	PK, KG-12	2750 East Gala Street	Meridian	83642	Ada County	Gem Prep: Online LLC	Yes	No	(n/a)	Yes	(208) 672-1155	378	13	29.0	25.2%	305 (80.7%)	3 (0.8%)	51 (13.5%)	3 (0.8%)	2 (0.5%)	4 (1.1%)	10 (2.6%)								(n/a)		86.8	≥ 64%	77.1	81.8	68.1	66.7	76.0	67.9	74.5	80.0	74.3	61.5	≥ 84%	75.0	79.4	83.6	83.0	≥ 82%	82.7
Gem Prep: Meridian	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	2750 East Gala Street	Meridian	83823	Latah County	Gem Prep: Meridian LLC	Yes	No	(n/a)	Yes	(208) 917-9150	506	23	22.0	31.1%	380 (75.1%)	8 (1.6%)	80 (15.8%)	11 (2.2%)	3 (0.6%)	4 (0.8%)	20 (4.0%)								(n/a)	80.0	69.8	59.1	71.1	75.6	≥ 58%		69.7	≥ 52%	72.2		63.3	73.3	≥ 53%	65.9	73.3	87.8	75.0		72.8	$8,768	$937	$7,831
Idaho Virtual Academy	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	1965 South Eagle Road Suite 1	Meridian	83642	Ada County	Idaho Virtual Academy Inc.	Yes	No	(n/a)	Yes	(208) 322-3559	1,801	55	32.5	41.4%	1,331 (73.9%)	8 (0.4%)	326 (18.1%)	16 (0.9%)	12 (0.7%)	1 (0.1%)	107 (5.9%)								(n/a)	36.6	24.0	27.9	15.8	22.4	23.4	34.5	24.9	33.3	36.8	50.4	39.5	57.7	41.7	46.4	31.3	43.6	43.3	74.6	46.8	$8,430	$859	$7,571
Compass Public Charter School	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	4667 West Aviator Street	Meridian	83642	Ada County	Compass Public Charter School Inc.	Yes	No	(n/a)	Yes	(208) 888-5847	1,265	68	18.6	12.4%	989 (78.2%)	14 (1.1%)	149 (11.8%)	43 (3.4%)	2 (0.2%)	3 (0.2%)	65 (5.1%)								(n/a)	73.6	81.1	72.5	73.7	71.7	67.8	78.2	73.7	65.7	73.0	80.0	71.6	75.2	78.4	76.1	85.1	83.3	83.5	87.3	80.9	$5,937	$683	$5,254
Gem Prep: Meridian South	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-11	1925 Lake Hazel Road	Meridian	83823	Latah County	Gem Prep: Meridian South LLC	Yes	(n/a)	(n/a)	(n/a)	(208) 332-6800	458	23	19.9		357 (77.9%)	1 (0.2%)	70 (15.3%)	7 (1.5%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	22 (4.8%)								(n/a)	84.3	68.0	68.1	68.6	71.1	≥ 66%		72.0	60.4	≥ 64%		64.4	72.5	≥ 52%	66.0	80.4	82.2	82.1		73.1
Inspire Virtual Charter School	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	9550 West Bethel Court	Boise	83709	Ada County	Inspire Academics Inc.	Yes	No	(n/a)	Yes	(208) 322-4002	1,210	37	32.3	29.9%	882 (72.9%)	10 (0.8%)	226 (18.7%)	16 (1.3%)	16 (1.3%)	3 (0.2%)	57 (4.7%)								(n/a)	26.7	< 23%	30.4	< 19%	22.6	< 26%	< 25%	23.0	< 37%	< 34%	< 45%	37.4	< 38%	< 40%	48.2	25.8	31.3	< 48%	≥ 55%	41.7	$6,932	$401	$6,531
Gem Prep: Meridian North	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	5390 North McDermott Road	Meridian	83823	Latah County	Gem Prep: Meridian North LLC	Yes	No	(n/a)	Yes	(208) 917-9150	474	23	20.6		359 (75.7%)	5 (1.1%)	81 (17.1%)	6 (1.3%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	21 (4.4%)								(n/a)	72.3	74.4	78.7	68.1	56.5	≥ 50%		66.3	68.8	≥ 58%			≥ 46%	79.1	76.6	72.3	82.2	73.5		73.4
Wilder Academy Of Virtual Education	Public, Alternative	K-12	16231 North Brinson Street Su	Wilder	83676	Canyon County	Wilder District	No	(n/a)	(n/a)	(n/a)	(208) 337-7400	202	12	16.8		143 (70.8%)	1 (0.5%)	47 (23.3%)	4 (2.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (3.5%)								(n/a)		50.0			< 27%		< 18%	17.1			< 27%	22.9					< 31%	35.0	45.2	37.5
Nampa Online Virtual Academy	Public, Alternative	PK, KG-12	3313 Parkridge Drive	Nampa	83687	Canyon County	Nampa School District	No	No	(n/a)	No	(208) 468-2808	298	17	17.1	30.7%	157 (52.7%)	0 (0.0%)	119 (39.9%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (1.3%)	17 (5.7%)								(n/a)			< 25%	< 20%	< 24%	< 21%	< 30%	11.8	< 27%	19.5	< 38%	< 22%			< 25%	19.4	28.0	34.2	< 53%	26.6

Frequently Asked Questions about Project Impact Stem Academy

What district is Project Impact Stem Academy in?

Project Impact Stem Academy Inc.

How many students attend Project Impact Stem Academy?

In the 2024-25 school year, 227 students attended Project Impact Stem Academy.

What is the racial makeup of Project Impact Stem Academy?

Students at Project Impact Stem Academy are 85% White, 11% Hispanic, 3% Pacific Islander.

Is Project Impact Stem Academy a good school?

Project Impact Stem Academy ranks 223^rd of 350 Idaho alternative schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Rate Project Impact Stem Academy!

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Latest Idaho data All new data »

2025–26 attendance dataAug 19, 2026

2025–26 ISAT test scoresAug 19, 2026

2024–25 attendance data & graduation ratesJan 19, 2026

2024–25 ISAT test scoresAug 26, 2025

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Idaho Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.