Fulton County parents may soon gain greater authority over how their neighborhood schools are run.
The Fulton school board voted 7-0 to apply to the state to become a charter system, a change that could give the district the flexibility to bypass mandates some educators believe restrict classroom creativity. Requirements concerning class size, staffing requirements, spending guidelines and instructional time are among the barriers that would be removed.
And parents would get new power. They could vote on their neighborhood school's budget, weigh in on improvement strategies and have a voice in the selection and evaluation of their principal.
If Fulton’s charter petition is approved, the district would join 14 other charter systems statewide, including Marietta City Schools and Decatur City Schools.
"It's exciting,’’ said Robert Avossa, superintendent of Fulton Schools. “One of the things that drew me to this position was the fact that Georgia was providing this option to school districts and Fulton County had stepped up. I think it’s a ground breaking opportunity not only for public education in the Atlanta metro area, but quite frankly the nation.”
As a charter system, participating Fulton County public schools would have 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. Georgia's charter systems receive an extra $100 per student from the state to help fund campus innovations.
Fulton's schools would have up to three years to prepare staff and parents for the transition. In the first year of the contract, schools would elect and train their governing boards, which would be comprised of three parents elected by parents; two staff members elect by staff; two staff members appointed by the principal; and two community members picked by the board.
In the next year, the new governing board, school leaders and parents would study the needs of the school and consider which state laws it would like to see waived.
“By year three, all schools will have had to convert,” said Martha Greenway, deputy superintendent for organizational advancement. “It wouldn’t be until year five that all schools would actually be implementing waivers.”
Waivers suggested later by individual school's governing boards would have to be approved by a two-thirds majority vote and then rubber-stamped by the superintendent. The county school board would focus on district-wide issues.
“One of the biggest concerns that we have heard from the community is that the governing board might not take into account the interests of all students in the school," Greenway added. "We put checks and balances in place to ensure that we were implementing effective practices.”
Fulton Schools officials sought public input throughout the process. The district reserved a place on its website that allowed parents to ask questions about the charter initiative and suggest ideas. Three town hall meetings were held in October to further explain the plan. "
Fulton will submit their charter system application to the state by Dec. 1. It will then be reviewed by staff and could be ready for state board consideration by March. If approved in spring 2012, Fulton's charter contract would run from July 1, 2012 to June 20, 2017, said Lou Erste, the state's charter schools division director.
Charter systems must meet show progress in meeting their contract goals to continue to receive freedom from state mandates. If a charter system's contract is not renewed, they lose their broad flexibility waiver and revert back to traditional public schools.
While Fulton Schools moves on the road to full flexibility as a charter system, some parents say the district is stifling the freedom of charter schools already in the district who have already experienced it.
Parents of Fulton Science Academy Middle say their school is being denied the “blanket waiver” of full flexibility from state education mandates they have enjoyed for 10 years because of a board practice withdrawing the option for district charter schools. Fulton, however is seeking the same full flexibility waiver from the state.
Fulton Science Academy, a school of 508, is Georgia's first charter school to be named a national Blue Ribbon School for its success on state exams.
"Our school has always met or exceeded its [state exam] and charter goals," said parent board member Angela Lasseter. "The intention for a charter school anywhere in the nation is to grant full flexibility and autonomy in return for better than average results.”
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