Charter Schools in Georgia
POLITICS:
- CELEBRATE: Representative Johnny Isakson of Georgia is one of
eight U.S. Congressional leaders serving as honorary co-chairs of
the Congressional Salute to Charter Schools in conjunction
with the fourth annual National Charter
Schools Week, April 28-May 2, 2003. The co-chairs will
participate in various events designed to showcase the
importance of charter schools in improving all schools.
- JUST AVERAGE:
Georgia
gets a "C" because despite having 36 charter schools, the law still
limits authorization to school boards, and with recent legislation that removed
the automatic waiver from state rules, charter schools in Georgia will now have
to contend with more bureaucracy. Charter
School Laws Across the States: Ranking Scorecard and Legislative
Profiles, January 2003.
- HOOP-LA: Georgia's law took a bit of a hit last week
when the legislature passed a bill that will result in additional bureaucracy in
charters, and will allow the politically-appointed state board of education to
dictate charter school changes without legislative intervention. There is minor
good news: The new law makes it more difficult for school boards to say no to
applicants, and to negotiate lower funding. But obviously, if charters have to
jump through traditional regulatory hoops, they might as well not be charters.
(Which of course, was likely the intent of the bill's authors!) From CER
Newswire, April 16, 2002.
ACHIEVEMENT:
- MEASURING UP: A new report by the state's Department of Education on the
status of charter schools in 2001-2002 is full of good news. In several
measures, Georgia's charter schools are doing appreciably better than their
public school peers. On the state test, charters exceeded state standards by an
average of 4 points on Grade 4, 6 and 8 reading and math exams. And the
percentage of charter students passing each of the five subjects on the Georgia
High School Graduation Test outpaced the state, 93% to 85%. In addition, the
study shows that charters have a lower dropout rate and fewer students repeating
grades than their district counterparts. Even more impressively, all this
occurred with charters serving a higher percentage of ESOL and special education
students than other Peach State publics. Georgia charters also serve a 41
percent minority population and the percentage of students eligible for free and
reduced lunch increased to 32 percent this year. To view the full report go to: http://www.doe.k12.ga.us/charterschools/about.html.
-
EXCELLENCE: Cartersville Primary School, in the Cartersville district which converted to charter status in 1996, has been recognized as a 1997 Georgia Pay for Performance School, a 1996-1997 Georgia School of Excellence, and a 1996-1997 National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence.
Charter Schools Today: A Sampling of Their Successes
RESOURCES:
Profile of
Georgia Charter School Law
.
Links to Georgia Charter School Websites
.
SUPPORT ORGANIZATIONS:
Center for Education Policy
6100 Lake Forest Dr., Suite 110
Atlanta, GA 30328
| Contact: Chris Carr
Telephone: (404) 256-4050
Fax: (404) 256-9909
Website: www.gppf.org
Email: ccarr@gppf.org |
Charter School Resource Center of Georgia
P.O. Box 2054 Alpharetta,
GA
30023
| Contact: James P. Kelly, III
, Executive Director
Phone:
(770) 521-0523
Fax: (770) 521-0467
Email: jpkiii@msn.com |
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION:
Maryland Charter School Legislation, Laws, Schools & Websites
District of Columbia Charter School Legislation, Laws, Schools & Websites
Virginia Charter School Legislation, Laws, Schools & Websites
Alaska Charter School Legislation, Laws, Schools & Websites
Alabama Charter School Legislation, Laws, Schools & Websites
Michigan Charter School Legislation, Laws, Schools & Websites
Mississippi Charter School Legislation, Laws, Schools & Websites
Kansas Charter School Legislation, Laws, Schools & Websites
Hawaii Charter School Legislation, Laws, Schools & Websites
California Charter School Legislation, Laws, Schools & Websites
Texas Charter School Legislation, Laws, Schools & Websites
Missouri Charter School Legislation, Laws, Schools & Websites
Arkansas Charter School Legislation, Laws, Schools & Websites
Connecticut Charter School Legislation, Laws, Schools & Websites
Oregon Charter School Legislation, Laws, Schools & Websites
Wisconsin Charter School Legislation, Laws, Schools & Websites
North Dakota Charter School Legislation, Laws, Schools & Websites
South Dakota Charter School Legislation, Laws, Schools & Websites
North Carolina Charter School Legislation, Laws, Schools & Websites
South Carolina Charter School Legislation, Laws, Schools & Websites
Florida Charter School Legislation, Laws, Schools & Websites
Pennsylvania Charter School Legislation, Laws, Schools & Websites
Charter School Home Page