In 1984, Lynda Plummer had a problem. Her five year old daughter was old enough to enroll in school. The problem was that she had been reading for two years, and had taught herself to multiply. For kindergarten, a private school promised to educate her daughter at a challenging level, but after enrollment, failed to do anything but "teach" her the alphabet. Then in first grade, a public school pro
mised to cross-grade her, which meant her daughter would go to first grade for part of the day and second grade for part of the day. The public school failed to do so. The daughter was becoming depressed, a serious sign in a 6-year-old. Meanwhile, Lynda Plummer had been extensively researching cutting-edge education and what the futurists were calling for in order to cure our nation's educational problems, which were described in "Nation at Risk", a publication put out in 1983 by the U.S. Department of Education, detailing the pitiful education our children were receiving. After seeing first-hand what was available in Wichita Falls, and being rebuffed in her attempts to institute educational reform, Lynda Plummer thought it unlikely that the schools would change enough in her children's lifetime to give them the education they needed. By that time, she had two more children developing at the same rate as her first daughter. Lynda Plummer was left with no choice but to open a school that would prepare her children for their very different future in the 21st century. The best education in Wichita Falls is FREE! Bright Ideas was awarded a charter and became a charter public school in September, 1998. Attendance became free for all students. Finally, all children in the Wichita Falls area have access to the very best preparation for college. Update: In June of 2015, Bright Ideas Charter School officially closed it's doors. This page serves as a way for past students to still keep in touch and share memories. We thank the Plummers for serving the students of Wichita Falls in the 32 years the school was open.
