One Stone: Parent Guide to a Student-Driven Private Lab School in Boise

One Stone is a Boise, Idaho, nonprofit and private lab high school built around student-driven learning, coaching, human-centered design, and competency-based growth. It is active as a private tuition-charging school, but it should be published with a prominent caveat: in 2026 One Stone announced that it was exploring conversion into a new tuition-free public charter school, with a decision expected later and no immediate change for the upcoming school year.[1][4]

Snapshot facts

Field	Detail
Official name	One Stone Lab School, commonly presented within the broader One Stone organization.[1][3]
Current operating status	Active private lab school. The high school page publishes a 2026-27 application priority deadline and current program information.[1]
Founded	One Stone says the organization was founded in 2008 by Joel and Teresa Poppen. Its charter FAQ says the Lab School opened in 2016.[3][4]
Founding organization or founders	Joel and Teresa Poppen founded One Stone, according to One Stone's about page. The Lab School is part of the One Stone organization.[3]
Current leadership	One Stone's about page lists Celeste Bolin as executive director.[3]
Headquarters or primary location	1151 West Miller Street, Boise, Idaho.[2]
Campus or location footprint	One private lab high school in Boise, with broader One Stone youth programs and community work.[1][3]
Grades served	High school. The public page does not display a conventional grade-by-grade table in the lines reviewed, so families should verify whether the program is accepting all high school grades in the current cycle.[1]
Public, charter, private, or nonprofit status	Current status is private lab school within a nonprofit organization. One Stone is exploring a possible public charter conversion but had not made that transition as of the reviewed 2026 FAQ.[3][4]
Tuition or public funding model	Tuition charged under a flexible income-tier system for 2025-26, with published tiers from $6,500 to $17,640. One Stone says tuition covers about 40 percent of Lab School operating costs.[2]
Admissions model	School-managed application process, with a published 2026-27 priority deadline. If a future public charter is approved, admission would shift to a public lottery model.[1][4]
Educational model	Student-driven learning, coaching, design thinking, real-world work, internships or job shadows, competency-based growth framework, and a growth transcript.[1][2][3]
Accreditation	One Stone says it is an NWAIS candidate member and is on track for full accreditation. Families should confirm current status directly with NWAIS and the school.[2]
Evidence confidence	Strong for current model and tuition. Limited for independently verified outcomes; college acceptances listed by the school should be treated as school-published evidence.[2]

What it is

One Stone is best understood as a small private lab school within a nonprofit youth organization, not as a conventional private college-preparatory school and not yet as a public charter school. Its high school page says students learn alongside coaches, mentors, industry leaders, and community leaders, and that students drive their learning through real-world problem solving.[1]

The school's charter exploration is a major editorial caveat. One Stone announced in April 2026 that it was beginning the process of opening an innovative public charter school. The FAQ says there is no immediate change for the upcoming school year, that a charter application was expected in September 2026, and that a final determination was expected in January 2027. It also says that if a charter is approved, the current Lab School would close and a new public charter school with a new name would open as soon as 2027-28.[4]

Educational model

One Stone's model is organized around student agency, human-centered design, and competency-based growth. The high school page says students work with coaches, mentors, industry and community leaders, personalize their learning, and engage in internships, job shadows, work experiences, college-level opportunities, and professional-quality work with partners.[1]

The school also publishes a Growth Framework called BLOB, with domains including mindset, creativity, skills, and knowledge, and it refers to a Growth Transcript. The charter FAQ says the school would continue using a Growth Transcript and would not use letter grades or GPAs in a future charter model, which strongly indicates that the current model is intentionally nontraditional in assessment as well as instruction.[2][4]

Student experience

One Stone's student experience appears highly individualized. The high school page describes learning through coaches and mentors rather than conventional teacher-led class periods alone. The school calendar text reviewed for this profile describes fall and spring schedules designed by students, exploration workshops, a winter exploration period, and summer experiences such as internships, job shadows, professional learning, or academic learning.[1][2]

This is a strong fit question. A student who wants adult-world work, choice, design, and flexible pathways may benefit from the model. A student who wants a traditional grade structure, conventional GPA, a large course catalog, or a familiar high school environment may find the model disorienting. Parents should ask to see sample transcripts, graduation requirements, weekly schedules, and examples of student work.[1][2]

Curriculum and instruction

One Stone frames learning through design thinking and real-world work. The about page says the organization uses a design process connected to Stanford d.school and IDEO toolboxes. The high school page says students develop work with community and industry partners and pursue personalized experiences.[1][3]

The school uses competency language rather than a conventional Carnegie-unit course list in the public material reviewed. Families should ask how the school covers core academic subjects, how credits are awarded, how students demonstrate readiness for college admissions, how math and writing are sequenced, and how outside courses or college-level work are incorporated.[1][2]

Public, charter, private, or nonprofit status

As of the reviewed 2026 materials, One Stone Lab School is a private school within a nonprofit organization. It charges tuition under a flexible income-tier model. The charter FAQ explicitly says that if the public charter path is approved, the Lab School would close and a new public charter school with a new name would open. That means One Stone should not be listed as a public school yet.[2][4]

The charter exploration may make the profile more important, not less. Parents need to know whether they are applying to a private school that may change form, whether current students would be affected, and what happens to tuition, admissions, transcripts, special education, transportation, and accreditation if a new charter school opens.[4]

Locations and availability

One Stone lists its address as 1151 West Miller Street in Boise, Idaho. It is a local school, not a national online program.[2]

Availability is school-managed under the private model. The high school page reviewed for this batch included a priority application deadline for the 2026-27 year. If the public charter conversion occurs, the FAQ says the school would have a public lottery and would return to tuition-free access, subject to public charter rules.[1][4]

Tuition, admissions, and eligibility

One Stone publishes tuition tiers under its Flexible Income Tuition model. For 2025-26, the public page listed Tier 1 at $6,500 for families with income up to $50,000, Tier 2 from $6,501 to $9,608, Tier 3 from $9,609 to $13,624, and Tier 4 from $13,625 to $17,640. The page also says tuition covers about 40 percent of Lab School operating costs and that Clarity charges a separate $60 fee for the financial application process.[2]

Parents should verify tuition for the current year, deposit and refund rules, financial aid timing, and how the potential charter transition affects contracts. They should also ask whether a student admitted to the private Lab School has any preference or continuity if a new public charter is approved. The charter FAQ should be revisited before publication and again after the January 2027 decision point.[2][4]

Evidence and outcomes

One Stone publishes a college acceptance list and describes its competency transcript and real-world experiences. Those are useful signals, but they are school-published and should not be presented as independent proof of outcomes. The school says it is an NWAIS candidate member and on track for full accreditation, which parents should verify directly with the accreditor.[2]

This profile should not make broad claims about academic growth, selectivity, college placement, or comparative success. Instead, SchoolDecision should frame the evidence honestly: the school has a clearly documented model, published tuition, a nonprofit history, and a significant pending governance change. Independent outcome data were not found in the public pages reviewed for this batch.[2][3][4]

Best fit

One Stone may fit students who want high agency, design thinking, flexible learning, community projects, and coaching rather than a conventional private high school. It may appeal to families who value competency transcripts and real-world work over a traditional GPA-centered experience.[1][2]

It may be a weaker fit for families who need a stable conventional transcript, a fully accredited status today, a broad athletic or AP program, or certainty about the school's future governance. The charter exploration creates a material question for any family considering multi-year enrollment.[2][4]

Questions parents should ask

Parents should ask whether they are applying to the private Lab School or a future charter pathway, what happens if the charter is approved, and whether current students would need to reapply through a lottery. They should ask whether the Lab School will continue operating if the charter is not approved.[4]

Academic questions should focus on transcript interpretation, college counseling, coverage of core subjects, math sequence, writing expectations, accreditation status, special education support, and how internships or work experiences are secured. Financial questions should include tuition tiers, aid, contract terms, and what costs are not covered by tuition.[1][2]

Sources

[1] "High School," One Stone, https://onestone.org/high-school, accessed June 7, 2026.
[2] "Tuition," One Stone, https://onestone.org/tuition, accessed June 7, 2026.
[3] "About," One Stone, https://onestone.org/about, accessed June 7, 2026.
[4] "Innovative Charter School Exploration FAQs," One Stone, https://onestone.org/innovative-charter-school-exploration-faqs, accessed June 7, 2026.