Situated along Lake Coeur d'Alene and extending across much of Kootenai County in North Idaho, Coeur d'Alene Public Schools is an education leader, promoting opportunities for innovation in learning and inspiring excellence in everyone. It is our vision to promote opportunities for innovation in learning and inspire excellence in everyone.

Our mission statement: We invest in each student to prepare, challenge and advance well-educated, resilient and future-ready citizens. Read about our Strategic Direction Plan.

Overview: We serve nearly 10,000 students in 16 schools: 10 elementary schools, three middle schools, two traditional high schools, and an alternative high school and dropout retrieval program. We offer full-time kindergarten at four schools, a special needs preschool program, and student opportunities at a joint professional-technical high school campus (KTEC) shared by neighboring school districts.

Our schools: Educational choices are provided with magnet programs at two elementary schools: Sorensen Magnet School of the Arts and Humanities and Ramsey Magnet School of Science. Other elementary schools of choice include Hayden Meadows, adopting an emphasis on technology; Fernan STEM Academy, offering a science, technology, engineering, and math focus; and the Northwest Expedition Academy, an expeditionary school exemplified by project-based learning expeditions.

Advanced opportunities: Our district offers Advanced Placement (AP) opportunities for qualifying high school students, as well as dual enrollment programs with institutions such as the University of Idaho and North Idaho College. Additionally, we recently opened North Idaho's first Total Communication preschool classroom and are the only district in North Idaho offering an orchestral educational experience for students in grades 5-12. Our district places a high priority on technology for staff and students, recognizing that it is a catalyst for teaching and learning. Every school has an active parent organization and the district employs 8 of the last 17 Idaho Teachers of the Year.

Educational information: We had a district-wide graduation rate of 86.5% in 2017. We pride ourselves on being Idaho’s highest performing large school district in many measures of student achievement. We focus on continuous improvement. The percentage of our high school students who continue on to college (or professional-technical certification) exceeds both state and national averages, with better second-year retention, and our students have higher numbers of advanced credits entering college than other Idaho school districts.

District size: We operate on a total budget of nearly $83 million, about $60 million of which is general fund. District 271 is one of the largest employers in the five northernmost counties of Idaho and ranks sixth in enrollment size among Idaho’s 114 public school districts. 

Governing board: Our district is governed by a five-member Board of Trustees whose members are elected by the public and serve through volunteering their time and talent. Read more about our board.

Operations: The district’s Transportation Department has 62 buses and transports about 4,000 students daily. Nutrition Services serves around 6,500 student meals daily, offering breakfast and lunch at all schools. The Maintenance Department has won accolades for its energy conservation practices. District 271 Technology includes fiberoptic connections to all buildings and internet access in all classrooms. Read more about these departments.

Community support: The success of our district can be attributed to the continual improvement in the quality of its educational programs. This is made possible by a supportive community, successful business partnerships, a highly qualified and dedicated staff and active parent organizations at every school. It is through the collaborative efforts of the community that Coeur d'Alene Public Schools continues to grow while successfully meeting the needs of all students.