There were two particularly notable names on the list of the 141 schools circulated by Gov. Nathan Deal's office that would be eligible for a state takeover under his proposed constitutional amendment. (Here's your link to the list arranged by school district or alphabetical order.)
The first is Atlanta Heights Charter School, which was approved by the state charter school commission in 2009. The second is Ivy Preparatory Young Men's Leadership Academy, an Atlanta campus approved as a state charter in 2013.
Critics of the proposal were quick to make the case that the list of perennially failing schools included two that were already under state oversight. The governor's aides, however, saw it as a sign that state intervention was already working.
Deal spokesman Brian Robinson said the fact that two of the 26 schools approved by the state charter commission "shows how well state action has worked in most cases."
"Considering where they started, most of these schools have shown marked improvement," he said. "The overall record is one of positive results."
He added:
"Those two schools were inherited by the current charter commission, and they have underperformed. The standards to get a charter approved are higher now, and the state provides training, resources and best practices research. If the schools don't improve, they close."
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