Flexibility (Waivers)
Student Achievement
Accountability
Why Charter?
Teachers want to teach. The charter provides an opportunity for
the school to divest itself of a multitude of unnecessary and unproductive administrative and instructional practices. It will enable resources to flow more directly to the classroom. Furthermore, it will give educators a substantial voice in decision making.
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Ashford Park will continue to receive the federal, state, and local funds it earns, but will request fully flexibility on how these funds are spent to meet the needs of AP students and staff and to provide financial efficiency and stewardship.
Our faculty will work collaboratively with parents and community members to achieve academic and operational performance goals we establish for our school.
We will be requesting a higher level of autonomy than neighboring DeKalb conversion schools and will exercise our rights to waive laws, policies, and rules that impede us from teaching and operating our school effectively.
We will establish a qualified Governing Board that sets policy; empowers administration and teachers to make decisions about instruction, resource allocation and operations; and provides parents with a meaningful voice in priorities for the school.
We will comply with certain mandates (SPED, ESOL, health and safety, accountability, civil rights, etc.) but will implement these mandates in an efficient and childentered manner.
n Organizing
petitioning procedures required by law and district policy n Organize stakeholder groups to plan the charter framework n Draft the charter petition and budget based on stakeholder work groups outlines n Facilitate establishment of the first qualified Governing Board
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community members.
Curriculum, Instruction, Assessment Operations Governance, Finance, Parent & Community Engagement Innovations, Waivers, & Performance Objectives
Primary responsibilities
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Research Use stakeholder surveys to plan the charter framework Use stakeholder surveys and research to outline components of the petition Provide outreach to parents, staff, and the community related to planning We WANT and NEED your participation in a big or small way, so please sign up to join
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We WANT and NEED your participation in a big or small way, so please sign up to join one or more groups.
Implementation Teams will be developed to plan implementation of the charter. The teams will consist of administration, teachers, and as appropriate, other faculty parents and community members.
Charter provides the WHAT. The Implementation Teams will provide the HOW.
For example the charter could request a waiver to choose its own text books and instructional materials. Implementation teams would evaluate and select them.
Governing Board
Will demonstrate appropriate qualifications/credentials to govern (education, legal, business, finance) Selected by school stakeholders Will have protections in place against conflicts of interest Sets overarching charter policy the board DOES NOT MANAGE. Establishes the charter budget and facilitates an annual audit Oversees achievement of charter goals and objectives Selects, monitors, develops, and assesses the principal the Governing Board MAY NOT terminate the principal from employment that is a function of the DCSS. Serves as volunteers and is not compensated
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Principal
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Selects, monitors, develops and assesses all school level staff Manages school operations and instructional programming Leads the school to utilizes the privilege of flexibility and waivers by thinking outside the box about how to best provide instruction and operations for the school. Acts as a liaison between the school and the governing Board related to progress and needs Acts as the charter's ambassador and represents the charter (in conjunction with the Governing Board) to authorizers Implements the charter according to the needs of the school Executes plan for achievement of charter goals and objectives
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School Staff
Works collaboratively with each other, with parents and the community to achieve the charters goals and objectives Provides input into school academic, financial, and operational priorities in a variety of ways Utilizes the privilege of flexibility and waivers by thinking outside the box about how to best provide instruction and operations for the school Works collaboratively to meet performance goals and objectives
Holistic, multidisciplinary learning approach Focused on functional literacy bridging education with 21st century workforce Embeds businesses and community partnerships to bring relevance to instruction
Stakeholder Buy-In
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This petition CAN NOT be submitted without the support of BOTH faculty and parents. Public meetings called 2 weeks in advance n Secret ballot n Majority in favor is required to submit the petition to DCSD
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n You
will see the FULL petition prior to being asked to vote. now and submission of the petition, you will have many opportunities for input (surveys, 4 stakeholder groups weekly meetings, OC meetings, social media for output and input of info, website, etc.
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Research plan and draft petition (May July) Conduct community meetings (June and July) Present the final petition to community groups (late July) Hold the stakeholder vote (late July, early August) Submit charter petition to DCSD (mid August) Submit charter petition to State Board of Education (November 1) If charter is approved, establish Implementation Teams (January or February) Begin charter status (August 2014)
http://apscharter.wordpress.com
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