The Fulton County school board is preparing parents for an academic overhaul that could make the district the largest in the state to go charter.
Next month, board members will vote on a petition to turn Fulton into a Georgia charter school system, a change that would give the district the flexibility to bypass state mandates some educators believe restrict classroom creativity.
The transformation would give local schools the freedom to create classes, special programs and schedules that meet individual student needs and improve academic performance in exchange for greater accountability over student achievement. Requirements concerning class size and instructional time are among the barriers that would be removed. If Fulton failed to improve, though, it could lose those freedoms and revert to traditional public school status when its five-year contract ends.
“We are looking at some innovative ways for students to experience the curriculum,” said Martha Greenway, a deputy superintendent for Fulton County Schools. “We might see different curriculum offerings. We might see time being spent differently during the instructional day. We might see opportunities to learn outside of the school building. We will continue to go beyond the Georgia curriculum.”
Parents also would gain greater authority over how their neighborhood schools are run. Charter systems have local governance teams that vote, she added. “Any innovation at the school level must have input from the full school community,” Greenway said.
If Fulton’s charter petition is approved, the district would join 14 other charter school systems statewide, including Marietta City Schools and Decatur City Schools. The districts receive an extra $100 per student from the state to help fund campus innovations.
Getting parents to understand the charter concept and get involved is the largest hurdle Fulton could face, said Phyllis Edwards, Decatur’s superintendent. “You are going to have to do a lot of training,” she said. “You need to be clear about what your expectations are. They need to know what they are doing is very serious.”
Here is how charter contracts for Marietta and Decatur compare with Fulton’s plan:
Fulton County Schools
Size: 93,000 (Existing charter schools can decide whether to participate)
Contract origin year: Planning to submit charter system petition to state by Dec. 1 that would be renewed in five years.
Flexibilities: Seeking freedom to change class time, school calendar, class sizes, state course/textbook approval and how money is spent, among other things. Plan would be rolled out over three years.
For more information: www.fultonschools.org
Marietta City Schools
Size: 8,170 (Contract includes most schools and students)
Renewal year: 2013. Application due fall 2012.
Flexibilities: Class time and schedules, among others. High schools and middle schools modified their schedules to offer time during the day for student advisement. Middle schools also were able to create an additional period where a student could seek enrichment, remedial assistance or participate in an academic club. Elementary schools also could offer struggling students more attention and resources.
Results: In 2008, at start of contract, 33 percent of students in grades 3-8 exceeded one or more standards on the state exam. In 2011, that number jumped to 50.7 percent.
Decatur City Schools
Size: 3,200 (Contract includes most schools and students)
Renewal year: 2013. Application due fall of 2012.
Flexibilities: Class time requirements, salary schedule, among others. High schools dropped block schedules, reverting to traditional days with modified block classes allowing more time for some subjects. Flexibility allowed the district to offer a modified year-round calendar. Students go to school for six weeks and then get a week off. This continues throughout the year, giving students a shorter summer. The school also introduced more assessments to evaluate students. The district is also looking to give teachers who remain in the classroom more pay as they become leaders.
Results: Since Decatur became a charter system in 2008, the achievement gap between students of different races and socioeconomic categories in fourth, sixth and eighth grade on the state exam in reading/English language arts was reduced by 18.46 percent. The gap was closed by 34.09 percent in math.
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