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Charter System Background Information. Table of Contents This Presentation is intended to serve as a reference Charter System—The Big Picture Basic Components.

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Presentation on theme: "Charter System Background Information. Table of Contents This Presentation is intended to serve as a reference Charter System—The Big Picture Basic Components."— Presentation transcript:

1 Charter System Background Information

2 Table of Contents This Presentation is intended to serve as a reference Charter System—The Big Picture Basic Components and Philosophy of the Charter System What “Flexibility” Means Waivable vs. Non-Waivable Laws/Rules Practical Considerations for Flexibility Examples of Flexibility-Driven Innovation Increased Accountability in a Charter System Goals and Expectations Consequences Distributed Leadership to Schools Local School Governance Teams (“LSGT”): Role, Purpose and Requirements Common Questions Charter schools vs. Charter System Schools LSGTs vs. LSACs Flexibility in Georgia Update 2

3 Charter System — Basic Components 3 Charter System Commitment to Innovation and Changing District Culture To innovate, District Requires Flexibility from State Law, Policy and District Policy Freedom and Flexibility in Exchange for Increased Accountability Goals Required Distribution of Substantial Autonomy to School (LSGT) The Charter System Philosophy: A district must want to truly change how it does business and believe that, in order to increase student achievement, schools must be operated in a different way, with greater parent and community buy-in at every single school. Schools are empowered to develop solutions free from the established educational bureaucracy of legislature-driven education mandates, State Board rules, and even the district’s own policies and practices. With this freedom from the law, the district and its schools in turn agree to be held accountable for significant increases in student achievement.

4 When we talk about "Flexibility," what do we mean? The ability to waive, i.e., not observe: A large amount of Georgia’s education laws (located in Title 20) State Board of Education Rules, Regulations, Policies, and Procedures Department of Education Policies and Procedures* Local Board of Education Rules, Policies, and Procedures *In practice, the most difficult to waive. Discussed more in depth on slide __.

5 Flexibility from Title 20 of the Georgia Code Duties of Actors How to earn/spend your money How to treat children legally Program Mandates The 499 pages of Georgia educational laws located in Title 20 primarily consist of laws that can be categorized in these four areas. Waivable areas include: Requirements for how districts spend their money (but not how it's earned) and educational/school program mandates/requirements (think middle school organization, # of instructional minutes, specific character education programs) Districts cannot waive the legal duties of actors, such as the Local Board of Education, or requirements on how to treat children legally.

6 State Board of Education Rules and Guidelines = Prime Waiver Territory Examples of Waivable State Board of Education Rules Operational Requirements: School Day/School Year, Middle School Program Criteria, Class Size, Minimum direct classroom expenditures HR Requirements: Personnel Required, Mentor Teacher Program, Salary Schedule Programmatic Requirements: Career Education, Values & Character Education, Work-based learning, Textbook Selections State Board of Education (“SBOE”) Rules present the most waivable requirements for charter systems. Georgia’s education laws are generally high level and often depend on the SBOE to flesh out programs, requirements, mandates, etc., through SBOE rule. As such, most of the detailed requirements for how districts must structure their schools and educational programs are located in SBOE rules.

7 What can't we waive? Federal LawHealth & SafetyHow we earn funding State mandated testing/accountability Civil Rights Non-educational State laws Conflicts of Interest/insurance Laws related to the concepts themselves* Unlawful conduct See the underlined for the less obvious non-waivable areas. *For example, a charter system cannot waive the charter schools act or charter system rules.

8 Flexibility Problems in Practice Issue 1: While charter systems can waive the state law & rule on an issue, that doesn't mean the charter system will necessarily be allowed to waive the corresponding GADOE processes/procedures. Example: A charter system school wants to develop a new innovative course for their students. In order for the district to receive funding for this course, the course must either 1) match an approved course code on an SBOE list, or 2) go through the DOE's course approval process (9-18 month process). Charter systems have not been able to waive the course approval process as of yet. What this means: The charter system concept is still evolving at the state. These types of discrepancies are being removed every year, but it takes time to get an entire state on board with a policy reform like charter system.

9 Flexibility Problems in Practice Issue 2: Currently, districts earn funding based on coding the types of classes and programs they offer, as well as the students who participate in those classes and programs. Districts cannot waive how they earn funding, but they can waive how they deliver the program. The Result: Charter systems have a hard time coding for funding because how they want to offer the programs might result in less funding. The state's answer so far is for districts to provide commensurate programming to what they're coding for—a pretty imprecise "solution." What this means: The way QBE funding is earned does not mesh well with diverging from the state’s education laws, SBOE Rules, etc.,. The Governor's new QBE reforms expected next year should hopefully resolve these conflicts before APS ever becomes a charter system.

10 Flexibility Problems in Practice Points to Consider Even with these issues, the flexibility a charter system is afforded allows the system to reform and reinvent itself in innovative ways, free from many educational requirements handed down from the state. That flexibility comes with meaningful cost savings and benefits. The Charter system concept is still a work in progress. As such, there’s a fair amount of advocacy work approved charter systems take on. Through continued collaboration with the state, charter systems can advocate for state-level improvements on how charter systems are allowed to operate. Each year, improvements are made, but there’s still work to be done until the machinery operates perfectly.

11 Specific Examples of Flexibility-Driven Innovation at the District-Level Waiver of certain educator contracting requirements to allow an introductory probationary period (90 days) to ensure good fit with the school placement. This allows the district to unboard or transfer new teachers without incurring Fair Dismissal Act requirements. Waiver of teacher certification requirements in non-core subjects Personnel Waiving programmatic delivery requirements of English Language Learner programs— instead of offering a limited # of segments a week, the district used more push-in services and offered a consolidated six-week summer language institute. Waiving # instructional minute requirements and course-credit hour requirements to allow mastery-based learning differentiated for student pacing needs. Academic Programs Waiving class size requirements and minimum direct expenditure requirements to allow districts to spend the money they receive to meet the needs of their students. Waiving the built-in spending requirements in QBE for funded programs to allow them to provide services differently than prescribed in law/SBOE rule. Finances Note: these examples are from other GA charter systems and are by way of example only.

12 Specific Examples of Flexibility-Driven Innovations at the School Level Development of Graphic Arts curriculum at the K-6 level (waiver of approved course requirements) Increased student work-based learning (waiver of student age/grade requirements for participation) Academic Program Shortening class periods by four minutes each to create new advisory period for college/career/work-based learning opportunities (waiver of instructional minutes) Increasing professional development days for staff (waiver of school year requirements) School Operations Allowing Students to waive PE requirements at High School level if participating in varsity sports or band (PE course requirement waiver) Miscellaneous

13 Increased Accountability for Charter Systems Part of the bargain is that, in exchange for increased flexibility, a charter system promises to do better. These promises are encapsulated in academic and operational goals contained in the charter system application and ultimately, the charter system contract. Academic Performance Goals State Required CCRPI-based goals (meet/exceed state averages) Student growth goals Fiscal Performance Goals Optional APS can include goals re: clean audits, balanced budgets, etc. District Culture Goals Optional APS can include goals re: decreasing student/staff absenteeism, increasing staff retention, school discipline, parent satisfaction

14 Consequences If APS does not meet its goals, the following consequences could result: Termination of Charter System Contract (more extreme) Non-Renewal of Charter System Contract after end of 5-year term Schools failing to meet charter system goals & meeting Opportunity School district criteria subject to state takeover. Other State Interventions for failing schools

15 Central Requirements of a Charter System Charter System Commitment to Innovation and Changing District Culture To innovate, District Requires Flexibility from State Law, Policy and District Policy Freedom and Flexibility in Exchange for Increased Accountability Goals Required Distribution of Substantial Autonomy to School (LSGT) Beyond the use of flexibility to drive academic and operational achievement, a charter system must also distribute meaningful decision-making power to the school level through the creation of Local School Governance Teams (LSGTs). Each school will have its own LSGT that is, by law, delegated power in certain areas.

16 Charter systems must distribute decision-making authority to LSGTs in these areas: Curriculum & Instruction Personnel Budget & Resource Allocations School Improvement School Operations What does decision-making authority in these areas really look like?

17 The Work of the LSGT DomainRequired by StateAPS is Considering Additionally Personnel IPT: Selection of PrincipalIPT: Annual feedback on principal's performance/interaction with LSGT IPT: Interview Principal Finance & Resource Allocations IPT: Final recs for school budget IPT: #/type of personnel, curriculum costs, supply, equipment, maintenance, operations costs AUT: Develop/manage requests for funding to support new innovative proposals. Curriculum IPT: Curriculum and accompanying instructional materials IPT/AUT: Align school's curriculum offerings and modes of delivery to cluster theme. School Improveme nt AUT: Establish/monitor achievement of school improvement goals AUT: Approval of school improvement plan and oversight of its implementation AUT: Create strategic plan that incorporates school improvement and Title I planning. School Operations IPT: school operations that relate to school improvement goals and/or charter system goals AUT: Development of community communication strategies and creation of Parent/community involvement/engagement plan IPT: School system calendar and district-wide initiatives IPT = Input, AUT = Autonomy. More information about the LSGT’s specific work will be provided during the Board Retreat Charter System Presentation

18 Common Question: If APS is granted charter system status, its traditional schools will become charter system schools. So, what's the difference between charter schools and charter system schools? APS Charter School School is governed by its own Governing Board, an individual legal entity that’s operated under District's high-level control & oversight Governing Board legally responsible for overseeing principal, school operations, and performance Governing Board is individually responsible for the goals in the charter contract between the school, district, and state APS Charter System School Part of the District, overall governed by the Superintendent and the Board of Education. Local School Governance Team (LSGT) responsible for strategic vision and deep thinking to increase school performance—not involved in day-to-day management of school LSGT is not individually responsible for accountability goals in charter system contract between APS and state.

19 Charter School Governed by non-profit board of directors Contract is between school, school district and state The Governing board can contract with an independent operator to manage and run the school Schools are independent and have flexibility from state and district policies Charter System Governed by Board of Education Contract is between system and SBOE Local School Governance Team has decision-making authority in certain areas Schools are not independently responsible for all goals stated in charter contract Not privatization Commonalities Public Operate under a charter contract Receive flexibility from certain state laws Subject to GA statewide accountability assessments Charter System vs. Charter School

20 What happens to APS's Charter Schools after the transition to Charter System? Short answer: Nothing. APS's transition to charter system status does not affect APS charter schools. The charter contract between APS, the charter school, and the state still govern the relationship and responsibilities of the charter school, APS, and the state. Charter petitioners can still submit charter petitions to start new charter schools to APS after APS’s transition to a charter system. A conversion charter school can choose to terminate its charter contract to become an APS charter system school instead, but it requires school, district, and state approval.

21 Common Question: What is the difference between Local School Governance Teams (LSGTs) required for Charter Systems and Local School Councils (LSCs) required for traditional systems?

22 LSGTs vs. LSCs CharacteristicsLSGTLSC StructureVoting Body: LSGTs have defined input and autonomy in certain areas whereas LSACs could only advise. Advisory Body Primary PurposeSet strategic direction for school and vote on school improvement initiatives Advise and make recommendations to school leadership Required?Mandatory for charter systems Mandatory for traditional systems (replaced by LSGT in charter system) Legal StatusLegally a part of the district MembershipStrict requirements established by the State and APS Minimum requirements established by the State

23 Flexibility Update for Georgia Where does the rest of the state stand with the June 30 th deadline to choose a model?

24 As of April 2015, there are: 32 Approved Charter Systems 4 Approved IE2 Systems 16 Letters of Intent for Charter System 20 Letters of Intent for IE2 108 Systems Undecided Deadline: June 30, 2015 to submit a letter of intent. Application Deadline for Charter System: November 1 st. APS is on track to submitting its application early during summer 2015. Information taken from GADOE presentation and SBOE Meeting summaries

25 After submission: The Charter System Approval Process Information taken from GADOE March 2015 presentation After APS submits its charter system to the LBOE for approval in summer of 2015, it will then be submitted to the GADOE for processing. The Charter Advisory Committee will then review and make recommendations to the SBOE to ultimately approve or deny APS's application.

26 Thank you! For questions or comments regarding APS’s charter system model, contact Angela Smith aksmith@atlantak12.ga.us


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