Two years, three months and a few hurdles later, Fulton County Schools on Sunday officially becomes the state's largest charter school district.
Parents say they are ready for the district to capitalize on two of the key components of the charter school model: more school-level control over decisions affecting teaching and the potential for improved student test scores.
"We're eager for change because the traditional setup has failed us," said Shamona Harrell, parent of an elementary school student in south Fulton.
At a town hall meeting last week, Fulton school superintendent Robert Avossa said one of the big advantages of becoming a charter system will be freedom from state rules governing everything from the size of its school media centers to the classroom materials it purchases.
Parents are also cautious, convinced, they say, that long-term success hinges on parents being closely involved and the right leaders being at each of Fulton's 93 schools.
"As long as we have strong people in every school, the new system will be successful," said Detrius Jones, a parent and state Senate candidate.
The Fulton County Board of Education officially began exploring the possibility of becoming a charter school system in March 2010.
At the time, all 180 of the state's local school systems were facing a 2013 deadline for declaring their intent to follow the status quo, the charter school model or another education reform model called Investing in Education Excellence or IE2. Both charter and IE2 systems can obtain flexibility on some regulations, provided they meet benchmarks for student achievement.
The deadline has since been pushed back to 2015 by the legislature. To date, 16 systems including Fulton, have decided to become charter systems, and three, including Gwinnett, have opted for IE2. No system has committed to the status quo.
In May, the state officially signed off on Fulton's charter plans, which were launched under former School Superintendent Cindy Loe and are being championed by Avossa, who became Fulton's superintendent last summer.
"It's an exciting opportunity for each community to determine its own fate," said veteran school board member Linda Bryant.
As a charter system, Fulton will qualify for extra money from the state, said Lou Erste, charter school division director for the Georgia Department of Education. Fulton should qualify for about $88 per student per student.
Supporters from Washington to Atlanta have hailed the public charter school as a way to give flexibility from top-down regulations, encouragie innovation and boost student achievement.
Critics argue charter schools are part of a backdoor effort to privatize education. They say supporters ignore the data showing charter schools have produced academic results largely no better than traditional public schools.
Georgia's Legislature recently passed a constitutional amendment to override a Supreme Court ruling and affirm state authority on charter schools. The court ruled that the state did not have authority to approve charter schools over local public school boards' objections.
Avossa said at the town hall, "We're not going to open up the floodgates without checks and balances and allow people to do whatever they want." He assured parents that the district's changes will not lead to the kind of problems it cited at Fulton Science Academy Middle School.
Fulton County refused late last year to extend thescience academy's charter school contract for 10 years. The school system released an audit in June that questions some of the academy's spending practices. Academy officials have denied any wrongdoing.
Fulton has a five-year charter contract with the state and announced last week the names of the schools that will begin creating and electing thecouncils to design innovations at those schools.
The councils will include the principal, three parents elected by parents and two teachers elected by teachers. At the high school level, the councils also will include two students elected by students.
"I can't be anything but positive," said Mario Avery, the mayor of Fairburn and a mentor to Fulton County students.
"You've got to be willing to try something different," he said.
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Box
Starting with the school year 2012-2013, the Fulton County school system will be a charter system.
The big players: system governance team
The school board and superintendent are responsible for setting policy, driving required system-wide "best practices," managing the school system and its personnel, overseeing all local school governance councils and approving any local school innovations.
school governance councils
Each school will have one. A council consists of the principal, three parents, two teachers, two-school based staff members and two community members. The council members who are parents and teachers are elected by their peers. At the high school level, the councils also have two students elected by students. The councils have the flexibility to design and implement school-level innovations responsive to the local school needs.
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