In Twin Falls, you'll find one of the state's best public school systems, an outstanding community college and a fine selection of private and parochial schools.

The Twin Falls School District educates over 7,200 students on a budget of over $45 million annually. Seven elementary schools, two junior high schools, an alternative junior high, a high school, an alternative high school, and a juvenile corrections school provide a quality education to district students. Twin Falls High School offers over 250 courses including advanced academic, college transfer and specialized professional and technical classes. All schools are accredited and the student to teacher ratio is 18:1.

In 2006, voters passed a $49.7 million levy - the third largest in state history - to construct a new high school serving 1500 students and slated to open in the fall of 2009. The levy will also be used to renovate, reconfigure and upgrade Twin falls High School, Robert Stuart and O'Leary Junior Highs, and all the elementary schools.

TFSD is ranked eighth in size among Idaho's 114 districts. It is one of the largest employers in the eight-country region, with over 400 certified teachers and 200 classified staff.  

The Jerome School District serves over 3,400 students in five schools -- three elementary, one middle school and one high school -- with 385 staff members. Two new schools - an elementary and a middle school - will be opening during the 2007/2008 school year. In addition, they have one alternate school, and early education program for three-four year olds, and a day treatment behavior modification program that accepts students from surrounding communities. A Vo-Ag Science and Technology building on the high school campus works closely with the College of Southern Idaho. The facility includes a distance-learning center capable of providing a variety of additional classes through a statewide system of telecommunications. Two local private schools are also available to Jerome residents.

The Mini-Cassia area is proud to educate over 9,000 students in 2 school districts. And the College of Southern Idaho also has a Mini-Cassia branch offering college courses locally.

Cassia County School District has about 5,000 students attending seven elementary schools, two junior high schools and four high schools.

Cassia County School District has just completed a 10-year building program in which three new high schools and three new elementary schools were built. The program also included the first in the state technical training center. In addition, the community donated approximately $1.8 million to upgrade the auditorium to a professional, full service Fine Arts Center. The generosity of this community demonstrates its commitment to education.

Minidoka County School District enrolls over 4,200 students attending: six elementary schools, two middle schools, one high school and one alternative high school. Minidoka County School District is in step by creating technical centers and providing modern facilities to educate companies' future workforces.

Kimberly School District enrolls 1,415 students at one elementary, middle school, and high school. One private school has 149 students. The College of Southern Idaho also has a vo-tech school here.

The College of Southern Idaho has expanded its Mini-Cassia campus and offers academic and technical educational opportunities. The community college and school districts are dedicated to providing the necessary skills for local and relocating companies. All three entities offer specially designed courses to meet the business community needs.

COLLEGE OF SOUTHERN IDAHO:

CSI works closely with businesses in the region to develop training programs specific to the needs of their employee base. More than a dozen comprehensive, highly specialized business-related training programs have been developed or enhanced as a result of the college's close business industry relationship. Whatever a business needs in regards to employee training, CSI will work closely with that business to develop a tailored program that will enhance the capabilities of those employees. For example, CSI recently implemented an apprenticeship program in maintenance technology to train skilled technicians for light manufacturing and food processing plants in the Magic Valley. This apprenticeship program is the first of its kind in the state of Idaho. In addition, CSI was instrumental in Dell Computer Corporation's decision to open a technical support center in Twin Falls as a result of the college developing an extensive technical training program for prospective employees.
http://www.csi.edu/

The College of Southern Idaho (CSI) is the pulse for the Magic Valley. It offers a comprehensive range of two-year, non-credit, professional and enrichment courses. CSI is a major contributor and supporter of community events and outreach programs. An elaborate interactive microwave system that connects the main campus in Twin Falls with schools, hospitals, and surgery centers as well as off campus centers in Burley, Gooding and Hailey, allows students throughout southern Idaho to receive valuable instruction. CSI is also adding more online courses to its catalog each year.

The 350-acre campus is the fastest-growing institution of higher education in Idaho.

• CSI has more than 70 academic programs that transfer easily to other colleges and universities and over 7,000 students are enrolled, 3,500 are full time. CSI students can pursue associate degrees and certificate programs as well as bachelor's and master's degrees through classes offered on campus by Boise State University, Idaho State University, the University of Idaho and Northwest Nazarene University. CSI has more than 40 technical programs, including some of the most sought after health sciences programs in the state. Their Surgical Technology program was recently honored as being Idaho's top postsecondary program in the state. CSI is a full residential campus, resembling many four-year schools with a new 30 thousand square-foot Student Union Building, spacious landscaping, competitive sports, clubs, student government, dorms, and full service cafeteria. The CSI Foundation now awards more than $1 million dollars a year in scholarships to academic, technical, art, music, drama, speech, leadership and athletic students.
• CSI features one of Idaho's four museums accredited by the American Association of Museums. The Herrett Center for Arts and Science is widely recognized for its pre-Columbian artifacts, modern art gallery, and ward-winning Faulkner planetarium, the largest in Idaho. CSI has provided professional training in various areas to the following companies: Glanbia, Idaho Power, Kraft Foods, Lamb Weston, Seastrom Manufacturing, Simplot, Solo Cup, Hilex Poly, Dutchmen Manufacturing, Microbial Vac Systems, Jayco, Amalgamated Sugar, Seneca Foods, Rangens Inc., McCain Foods, and Jerome Cheese.
  http://www.csi.edu/

Twin Falls, Jerome, Mini-Cassia and Hailey are served by several hospital facilities.

One Mission of Excellence…Four Award-Winning Hospitals

St. Luke’s Magic Valley Regional Medical Center is the largest regional hospital serving south central Idaho and northern Nevada with 166 affiliated physicians and nearly 1400 employees. This 202 bed acute care hospital provides services including maternity, women's health, cancer care, occupational health, imaging, surgical services, pediatrics, emergency care, new born and adult intensive care, home health and hospice care, adult and pediatric physical therapy and adult and children behavioral health. www.stlukesonline.org

St. Benedicts Medical Center is a non-profit hospital with a 40 bed long term care unit. It employs a staff of 200, making it the fourth largest employer in Jerome County. St. Benedicts was the only Idaho hospital to be named one of the top 100 hospitals in the United States in 1998 and 1999 by HCIA/William M. Mercer Inc. www.stbenshospital.com

The Mini-Cassia area has two hospitals offering a wide range of services.

Minidoka Memorial Hospital, is one of the county's largest employers, with over 210 full and part-time employees. Minidoka Memorial provides a wide range of services with 51 physicians on staff. This includes 7 family physicians, 1 general surgeon, 1 internist, a radiologist and numerous consulting physicians, including 2 orthopedic surgeons. In 1998 a 15,000 sq. ft. surgical and obstetrical addition was added onto the west end of the facility. Minidoka Memorial also has an extensive nursing home division which operates at near 100% capacity.  www.minidokamemorial.com

Cassia Regional Medical Center, a partner of Intermountain Health Care offers a 38 bed facility with a state of the art medical center newly completed in 1995. CRMC offer 24-hour emergency services, a state of the art birthing center, coronary intensive care, occupational medicine and therapy, rehabilitation services, home care and hospice and surgical services.
www.ihc.com

St. Luke's Wood River Medical Center opened its doors, November 2000, to serve the health care needs of people living in the greater Blaine County area. To best accommodate the needs of the people in this region, the hospital site was located immediately off Highway 75. Services at Wood River Medical Center include a 24-hour emergency department, inpatient and outpatient surgery, diagnostics, maternity services, physical and occupational therapy, mammography, intensive care and medical/surgical units. St. Luke's Center for Community Health's main office can be found in the neighboring town of Hailey, Idaho.
www.stlukesonline.org/SLWRMC

HealthNet - HealthNet is a regional collaborative health partnership established in 1992 with a long-term commitment to improve the health of citizens in south central Idaho. HealthNet partners include: Magic Valley Regional Medical Center, College of Southern Idaho, Family Health Services, Cassia Regional Medical Center, Minidoka Memorial Hospital, South Central District Health Department, St. Benedicts Family Medical Center, and Walker Center.

In Twin Falls, 70 congregations represent 34 denominations.
In Jerome, 28 congregations represent 18 denominations.
The Mini-Cassia area has 94 congregations representing 25 denominations.
Kimberly has seven congregations representing seven denominations.

Kimberly - Kimberly is represented by a city-elected mayor, council, and planning / zoning commission.

The daily newspaper, The Times-News, serves Southern Idaho with local and national news as well as an Ag Weekly supplement and monthly Southern Idaho Business. The area is also served by affiliates for major television networks -- KMVT/CBS 11, KTFT/NBC 38, KSAW/ABC 51, and KXTF/Fox 35; KDID/PAX 55; KIFT/PBS 13; KTWT/UPN 43; cable and wireless cable television systems - AT&T Broad Band/Cable One; and local and Boise radio stations with programming in most formats.

Two daily newspapers and one weekly publication serve the Mini-Cassia area. The two daily papers include the South Idaho Press and the Mini-Cassia edition of the Times News. The weekly publication is the Minidoka County News. The area is serviced by local, Twin Falls and Pocatello radio stations. The area is also serviced by two Cable TV providers, Project Mutual Telephone and Cable One.

The ratio of law enforcement officers per 1,000 residents is used as a general measure of a community's commitment to law enforcement. Data for the local area shows that Twin Falls is about average for communities in the state. Local leaders rate police protection as good.