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Charter System status gives the Floyd County School system freedom from many state rules and regulations in exchange for the system’s agreement to increase academic achievement by students. It is important to note that charter status does not free the school system from all rules and regulations. We will still be required to observe any rule or regulation tied to the determination of federal AYP status. The system now enjoys many of the freedoms that have helped to make the system’s new charter school, the Floyd County Schools College & Career Academy, a model of excellence for the state. The system would be able to structure the local education program to meet the needs or our students and our community instead of having to comply with rigid state mandates that may not be in the best interest of our children. Charter also focuses on local control and decision making at the local system and school level. Charter systems are required to include the community and schools in the decision making process. Floyd County does this through Local School Governance teams in each school community. (See Local School Governance tab above) Examples of what we can do: The system can adjust the school calendar, student scheduling, seat time required by students to get class credit or rigid graduation requirements that may not fit the needs of all students. Example of what we can’t do: An item the system would not be able to alter would be state standardized testing. The CRCT tests are used in the federal AYP determination and could not be changed. Why Charter Why Now? By state law, all school systems in Georgia will be required to make a decision to be a Charter System, an IE2 System or Status Quo System by 2013. Floyd County Schools has been a leader in education in Georgia and thus elected to begin the decision process early in the selection window. We wanted to take our time and thoroughly study the issue and involve our entire community in the process. How was the decision made? A citizens committee made up of parents, business representatives, teachers, and principals studied flexibility options available to local school systems and recommended to the superintendent that Floyd County Schools seek Charter System status. Local control and decision making opportunities were top priorities for the Flexibility Study Committee and a main determining factor in the community committee selecting Charter System status. Charter system requires each local school to have its own governing body and moves many decisions down to the school level. The superintendent made the recommendation to the Floyd County Board of Education and the board approved the recommendation of the committee to petition the state for charter status. The process was community driven from the beginning with no central level school system administrators involved in the Flexibility Study Committee as voting members. The Flexibility Committee then developed the application to seek charter system status from the state. The study group held Innovation Discussions in each school community to get teacher and community input into what our schools could look like under charter system status. The ideas generated from those Innovation Discussions were then used by the committee to develop the charter application. At the state level, the application was first reviewed by the Charter Advisory Committee. The Charter Advisory Committee then made a recommendation to the Georgia Board of Education. The Georgia BOE holds final approval of charter status. Floyd County Schools was approved as a Charter System by the State Board of Education on Thursday, May 13, 2010. Floyd County was the sixth school system in the state to be approved as a Charter and the largest school system in Georgia to seek Charter status. A Local School Governance Team in each school is the method the school system will use to get the community, parents and teachers involved in decision making to maximize educational opportunities for children. Each Local School Governance Team (LSGT) will seek to provide the best possible learning environment for the children in their community. Local School Governance Team Members The Governance Team is made up of the principal, 2 parents, 2 community leaders, and 2 faculty members.
What is a Local School Governance Team member required to do?
The Local School Coordinating Council is the second level of local school governance with the charge to help retain system cohesiveness in programs and instruction. The LSCC will work directly with the superintendent to make decisions in areas that affect the system as a whole and to provide input and recommendations to the Floyd County Board of Education. The group will share ideas that are working in local schools and share successes of Local School Governance Teams so that these successes can be replicated at other schools in the system. Local School Coordinating Council Members The Local School Coordinating Council is made up of two members from each Local School Governance Team. One representative will be the school principal. The second representative will be determined by each LSGT. The group will meet four times annually. What is a Local School Coordinating Council member required to do?
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Charter System Petition
