‘Emotionally moving’: Idaho Falls charter students raise thousands for charity

IDAHO FALLS (Idaho EdNews.org) – A robust student culture for giving at Alturas International Academy impressed incoming principal Carina VanPelt.

“In all my years of education, I’ve never seen anything like it,” said VanPelt, who took over as the school’s principal just before Christmas break.

Arriving at Alturas after years of leading public and private schools gave VanPelt a ground view of Alturas’ giving program that’s raised what school leaders estimate to be between $25,000 and $30,000 over the last eight years.

And that’s from holding the school’s annual fundraiser event every other year, not annually.

The secret holiday sauce: the school’s fourth and fifth graders – and a dash of good, old lessons in economics.

Raising dollars is a hallmark of public education, as any parent who’s pledged to a local Read-a-Thon knows. But Alturas educators say two things distinguish their school’s approach – and align with its broader educational philosophy:

1. Fourth and fifth graders lead fundraiser planning and execution.
2. Rather than keeping the funds in house, students donate the money, which consistently reaches thousands of dollars on fundraising years, to a local charities.

This year’s haul: a cool $5,133.05 for Eastern Idaho Community Action Partnership, a nonprofit that provides rental support, heating assistance, home-delivered meals for seniors and other services to at-risk people in the area.

John Radford, the organization’s CEO, called the gesture “emotionally moving.”

“It’s inspiring because caring for each other is so critical these days,” said Radford. “It’s incredible to see that children can catch on to that.”

This year’s fundraiser was a school carnival. Students broke into groups to create a range of carnival games, from ring tossing to ski ball. One booth included beard care for those shaggier dads who attended.

The economic component lies largely in prep work. Each fundraiser year, the fourth and fifth graders group up and draft a business plan with focus on profitability. This year they decided on carnival games that factor in pricing (one to four tickets carnival goers can purchase to participate in events) and investments (they ask willing parents or a body of school leaders to fund costs tied to creating their game).

The process culminated in a night of games at the school. Students and community members packed the building, purchased thousands of tickets and lined up to play.

Seeing the event play out – and money roll in – was fifth-grader Gibson Eckman’s favorite part: “It was fun, and we all like helping people in need.”

Gibson’s game included tossing rings over rubber ducks in two kiddie pools for prizes.

For fellow fifth grader Piper Jackson, the challenge was carving up shifts for students to work the games.

“That was hard,” she said. Students who ran the booths could participate in games for one hour on the big night.

VanPelt emphasized the event’s benefits for those in need – and its learning value for kids. A focus on community, collaboration and support – all tenets of the school’s International Baccalaureate learning framework – underscored the effort.

“It’s just good all around,” VanPelt said.

This article was originally posted on IdahoEdNews.org on Dec. 26, 2025