What is a Charter System? Peach County Charter School System Presentation to: Staff and Public Stakeholders October 2015 and November 2015
Peach County Charter School System The Georgia Department of Education presented school districts in Georgia with three (3) options for use of greater flexibility to improve student achievement. The options allowed school districts to operate as one of the following types of school systems: 1. IE² System 2. Charter System 3. Status Quo System After considerable research, attending numerous workshops and numerous board meeting presentations on each of the options, Peach County Board of Education (the “Board”) decided that the Charter System was the best option for Peach County Schools. The Board unanimously approved the Charter System option on June 2, 2015.
What is a Charter System? A charter system is local school district that has an executed charter from the State Board of Education granting it freedom from almost all of Title 20, State Board of Education rules, and Georgia Department of Education guidelines. Peach County School System’s transition to Peach County Charter School System will include only Peach County’s six (6) public schools: Byron Elementary; Hunt Elementary; Kay Road Elementary; Byron Middle; Fort Valley Middle; and Peach County High.
What are we talking about and why? Improving Student • The Academic Bottom Line Academic Results • Shorthand phrase for Georgia education law and Title 20 all related rules and guidelines • Freedom granted through waivers of Title 20 law, Flexibility rules, and guidelines • Operational approaches school systems and schools can take to implement flexibility in Flexibility Options exchange for a performance contract from the State Board of Education • Waivers of state class size, expenditure control, The Big Four certification*, and salary schedule* requirements * IE 2 and charter systems, clusters, and schools only 4
Using flexibility to improve student achievement Flexibility/ Waivers Innovations Student Performance Dr. John D. Barge, State School Superintendent 10/29/15 5
What is a charter system? • A local district that has an executed charter from the Definition SBOE granting it freedom from almost all of Title 20, SBOE rules, and GaDOE guidelines • Charter is a contract between district and SBOE • District gains flexibility to innovate in exchange for Facts & Features increased academic accountability • Distributed leadership process • Flexibility to innovate Relative Advantages/ • Financial savings possible from waivers • Additional per-pupil funding in QBE if appropriated Disadvantages • School level governance required • Must comply with all federal laws and regulations Federal/State Compliance • Must comply with all state laws, rules and regulations that cannot be waived (e.g., health and safety) 6
Flexibility • Charter School System must provide examples of how broad flexibility permitted by the Charter Schools Act will be utilized to improve student achievement 7
Waiver Limitations • Charter School System Waiver Limitations: • Cannot waive: o Federal rules/ regulations o State and local rules/regulations such as: insurance; physical health; school safety; accountability; QBE funding; etc. o Court orders o Civil rights statutes o Conflicts of interest; o Unlawful conduct 8 8
Unique Features • Emphasis on school level governance and parent/ community involvement • Approved by the Local Board of Education at a public meeting 9
Fiscal Impact • Possible savings through flexibility • Regular QBE funding with no expenditure controls • Possible $80-$90 per pupil in supplemental funding through QBE 10
Governance School System must implement school level governance and grant decision-making authority in personnel decisions, financial decisions, curriculum and instruction, resource allocation, establishing and monitoring the achievement of school improvement goals, and school operations 11 11
Major Responsibilities of a School Board Strategic Plan • Adopt a five-year strategic plan Budget • Adopt a budget to fund the strategic plan • Hire a leader to implement the strategic plan within budget while providing for the BOE’s Superintendent control and management of schools • Adopt and keep an updated succession plan • Hold the leader accountable for implementing the strategic plan within budget Accountability • Conduct regular self-evaluations to hold itself accountable 12
Whose authority is shared with school governance teams or governing boards? • The Superintendent’s authority is shared with schools in a charter system or a system of charter schools or charter clusters • The authority of a local Board of Education (LBOE) is not diminished (unless it has taken over any of the Superintendent’s authority) • Georgia’s Constitution says the LBOE is in control and management of the schools and state law says all local schools are under the control and management of LBOE 13
School Governance Team Quality Standards School Governing Team Meets regularly and School Governing Team composition reflects complies with Open sticks to governance the diversity of the Records and Open and stays out of community Meetings Laws management Receives regular School Governing Team updates on academic Participates in regular exercises its school level School Governing Team operational, and governance financial progress of the training each year responsibilities school 14
Charter systems must report annually • Annual reports, which are due October 1, must describe the following: • The actual authority exercised by local school governing teams in each area of school level governance • Training received by school governing teams and school administrators • Steps, if any, the charter system plans to take to increase school level governance in the future 15
Charter System Contract • Charter system contracts are standard except for two areas – Each contract includes a list of the specific innovations to be implemented by the system to improve student performance o Initiatives which the system does not want local school governance to affect are included in the innovations list – Any specific performance measures beyond the CCRPI and Beating the Odds measures 16
Performance Evaluation • Student performance goals must meet contract goals and exceed state averages and previous system performance • Student performance must meet all federal and state accountability measures 17
Consequences • Charter status revoked and school system reverts to Status Quo • Possible fiscal impact when converting from Charter System to Status Quo due to loss of flexibility 18
Contractual Partners 1. State Board of Education 2. Local Board of Education 19
Length of Contract • Initial term of contract is for 5 years • Contract status is reviewed annually, based on student performance • Subsequent con-tract term may range from 5 to 10 years if the charter contract goals are met 20
Charter System Application 1. What will you be able to do with a charter that you can’t do without a charter? 2. What are your school system’s student performance objectives for the proposed charter term? 3. What specific actions will your school system take to achieve your student performance objectives during the proposed charter term? 4. What is the system’s plan to maximize school level governance? 21
Contract Approval Process LBOE GaDOE SBOE Charter Review and make Y Y system New charter Approval Approval recommendation system application to SBOE N N Start over or End Status Quo Charter Advisory Committee review and recommendation to SBOE 22
Application Review Process 1.Approved by local board 2.Petition vetted by GaDOE staff 3.Petition vetted by GaDOE Cabinet 4.State Board of Education approves or denies 5.If approved, contract signed by all parties Time from receipt of petition to SBOE approval and contract = 3 to 6 months 23
Additional Information Louis Erste Associate Superintendent, Policy and Charter lerste@doe.k12.ga.us 404-651-8734 24
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