Member Corner: Meet Keith Donahue of Sage International

This month, we are thrilled to introduce Keith Donahue as our featured member. We asked Keith a few questions about himself and what it's like working at 1 of only 3 schools of its kind — Sage International. Here's what he had to say:

What is your favorite film?
“The Castle” (Australian Comedy)
 
What is the best book you've read recently?
“Educated”
 
What sport do you enjoy watching most?
Mountain Biking
 
Who is the most interesting historical figure?
Helen Keller
 
What is your favorite hobby or thing to do during the weekend?
Trail running and time with family
 
Favorite Idaho escape?
McCall
 
Favorite place in Boise to take a visitor?
Our beautiful foothills and Ridge to Rivers trail system
 
What is the most important trend in your business or industry?
Connecting K-12 education with our business community through career technical education opportunities (i.e. internships). Also, effectively integrating technology into education as a value-adding tool, not a crutch or distraction.
 
What is the best advice you've received?
Take care of your people. Listen to them and make sure they know they are valued.
 
Who is a local business or business person you admire?
Chris Marshall. Chris serves on our board and is the former CEO of ECCO Group, a global company located here in Boise. He graciously shares his time and expertise with our school and with me personally as I work to lead Sage.
 
What is the number one reason to do business with your company or organization?
As a K-12 free, public International Baccalaureate school, we are globally unique (1 of 3 in the world) and are making a difference in the lives of thousands of Idaho children.
 
What do you enjoy most about your company or organization?
I enjoy working with a group of passionate, dedicated educators working toward a shared mission of improving and expanding the educational opportunities available to students and families through Idaho's public education system. As an IB school, we teach our students to be risk-takers, thinkers, communicators, principled, caring, and reflective. We also teach them to be engaged local and global citizens that are of service to their communities. What I love about Sage International is that our board, teachers, and support staff also embrace and model these attributes that we instill in our students as they grow into young adults. We are constantly taking chances, learning and growing together — sometimes with bumps along the way — as we work to educate and care for our 1,000 students. This is very meaningful work, and I feel fortunate to be a part of our team and mission.
 
Tell us about a current or upcoming project or company-wide initiative.
It is an exciting time for us as we recently broke ground on a second school in Middleton — Forge International. Forge International will serve 250 students next year and will grow to serve 650 students over the next five years. With Forge, we are replicating the successful IB school model we offer on our Boise campus, and bringing this school choice to multiple communities in rural Idaho — Middleton, Emmet, Star, New Plymouth, and a portion of Caldwell. We designed Forge International to be accessible to all members of the communities we serve. We will offer free bussing beginning year 1, which we were not able to do until year 5 in Boise; Forge will offer a federally subsidized lunch program for our low-income families; Forge's language focus will be Spanish, rather than Boise's French focus; and we aim to hire bilingual teachers and staff at Forge to the maximum extent. Being able to open a second school specifically designed to serve typically underserved families (rural, low income, minority) is an exciting next step for our board and leadership team.
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Check out Keith's spotlight in our Member Corner column of our newsletter! 

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