Clayton County’s two local charter schools - including one that is the county’s top-performing school - are at a crossroads.
The issue is whether to seek full independence under a new set of state rules or morph into magnet schools within the Clayton school district.
The charters at Elite Scholars Academy in Morrow and Unidos Dual Language Charter School in Forest Park are up for renewal in June. In order to remain local charters, both schools must have their own governing boards, which they do. Plus they would have to create nonprofits in order to ensure they’re independent from the local school district, state education department officials said. The changes involve Elite and Unidos and do not affect Utopian Academy for the Arts in Riverdale or DuBois Integrity Academy which are state-sanctioned charter schools in Riverdale.
Elite Scholars, whose 600 middle and high school students have consistently outperformed other Clayton schools, has decided not to renew its charter. Instead, Elite will seek to become an early college-prep magnet school under the Clayton school district.
“Elite Scholar has been able to focus on the academics because we haven’t had to independently go out and seek donations and set up [a nonprofit],” said Rep. Mike Glanton, chairman of Elite’s governing board. “We’ve had the support of the district since Elite opened its doors. We don’t want our children to be disrupted. We want a very seamless process.”
Clayton schools superintendent Luvenia Jackson told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution she envisions minimal changesat Elite which was named a Georgia School of Excellence in 2012 and designated a National Blue Ribbon School in 2014.
“We don’t want our children to be disrupted,” Jackson said.
The Clayton school board is expected to vote on a plan for Elite Scholars on Feb. 29.
Meanwhile, parents and staff at the 700-student Unidos school are voting this week on whether to remain a charter school. Results won’t be known until the week of Feb. 22.
Georgia has 120 local charter schools; 100 of those schools, including Elite and Unidos, were approved through their local school districts.
The head of the Georgia Charter Schools Association called Elite’s decision not to renew its charter “a little bit strange.”
“I do not understand why they would make this change. It doesn’t make sense to me,” said Tony Roberts, GCSA president and chief executive officer. “Other schools like Elite are functioning autonomously even under the auspices of the school district.”
Roberts noted that Atlanta Public Schools has 13 charter schools most of which receive some kind of funding from the school district.
Unlike many other local charters, Elite and Unidos have had a longstanding partnership with the Clayton school district which has provided payroll and facility support, food service, transportation and other services to the two schools. In Elite’s case, the district also has covered its nearly $1 million- a-year deficit since it opened six years ago.
Lisa Lewis’ 11-year-old son Alexander is a sixth grader at Elite. She is a frequent visitor at the school.
“I absolutely love it,” Lewis said. “We haven’t had any problems at all.”
As for the change? “It’ll be fine since we won’t feel the effects, ” she said.
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