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Appendix J: Community Engagement and Education

The charter effort began in 1997 when parents in Grant Park learned that Atlanta Public Schools planned to close Slaton Elementary School. Recognizing this as an opportunity, many parents decided to see what role they could play in making the new school that was being built the best school for the neighborhood. Efforts to understand the public education process and the options open to parents were explored with various people including local APS Board member Brenda Muhammad, Slaton Elementary School’s principal and Parent Teacher Association and various other traditional and charter public schools.

Integral to the whole process has been community involvement. The original group of interested parents in Grant Park held several community meetings in March and May of 1997. These meetings, as well as all future activities, were publicized through the neighborhood’s local paper, the Porch Press. At the March meeting, the group heard a presentation of general information about charter schools, a new public school reform concept in Georgia. A discussion ensued about the participants’ vision for a neighborhood school. The second meeting in May, which included remarks by Ms. Muhammad about Atlanta Public School’s plans for schools in the area, brought about more discussions about the community’s concerns and aspirations for the school.

After the May meeting the group launched a campaign to educate the Grant Park community about what was happening with local schools and to solicit their participation in efforts to improve education in the area. The campaign included a survey of more than 60 Grant Park families to determine their school plans for their children, meetings between the parent group and school officials, visits to newly built Atlanta public schools, charter schools, and private schools, as well as regular attendance at school Board meetings.

In July of 1998 the parent group published an article on their findings in the Porch Press, which concluded by stating support for a charter school that would be a true neighborhood public school and that would enjoy significant parental involvement. It was also important, the article noted, that the school be developed through broad community participation.

Over the next several months the parent group held a “Coffee, Donuts and Kindergarten” meeting for Grant Park parents whose children were about to enter the public school system. The meeting provided participants with information about the charter school proposal. A formal liaison from the parent group began attending the Slaton PTA meetings and a liaison continues to attend the PTA meetings to answer questions and provide updates on the charter school process. The parent group also incorporated itself as a nonprofit organization in order to secure funding through grants that are available to such efforts.

By October 1998, the Grant Park Neighborhood Association (GPNA) had unanimously endorsed the charter school concept and since that time as been updated monthly on the charter school proposal’s progress. GPNA has also contributed $3,500 to assist in the preparation of the charter proposal.

In 1999 the parent group saw wide media coverage of the charter school effort. Articles appeared in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Creative Loafing, and WAGA-TV Channel 5 broadcasted a segment in the spring. Regular updates continued to appear in the Porch Press and in the newsletter of the Grant Park Parent Support Network.

In 1999 Atlanta Public Schools closed on the purchase of the property for the planned new elementary school and made funds available for its construction. It was announced then that students at Ormewood Park’s Anne E. West Elementary School as well as students at Grant Park’s Slaton Elementary would make up the student body at the proposed new school. Grant Park, as a community, decided to continue to pursue a charter for the new school and to include parents from Ormewood Park whose children would also be attending the new school. The parent group, who for two years only had to focus their energy on Grant Park, was now faced with finding ways to incorporate the Ormewood Park community as an equal partner in the charter school process, as well as maintain their momentum for the charter school effort.

The community developed a basic vision of the school and circulated the concept document to community leaders, education officials, the GPNA and South Atlantans for Neighborhood Development (SAND), the neighborhood association representing Ormewood Park. The parent group also met with the Rev. Timothy McDonald, head of Concerned Black Clergy, who expressed support for the concept. Other meetings were held with School Board Members Ms. Muhammad, Aaron Watson and Norman Johnson, City Councilman Vern McCarty, GPNA President Malcom Gideons, Neighborhood Planning Unit (NPU) W President Paul Zucca, John Rhodes and Beverly Schrenger at the State Department of Education, and executives of the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education. The concept document was presented at a meeting of NPU–W, which represents Ormewood Park and Grant Park. In addition, a summary of the concept document was distributed to 40 community leaders and business owners, and a presentation was made to the Slaton PTA and the PTA executive committee of Anne E. West Elementary.

A summary of the concept document with contact information prepared in English and Spanish was distributed to all 2,500 Grant Park households. At the same time, bi-lingual teams of the parent group went door-to-door through lower-income areas of Grant Park, talking and/or distributing information directly to approximately 500 families. The information included plans for the school and asked for input. In addition, the parent group set up an information booth at a health fair sponsored by NPU-W’s Healthy Neighbors Committee.

When groundbreaking ceremonies for the new school were held in May 1999, the parent group began formal efforts to involve the Ormewood Park community. Several Ormewood Park parents and community members came on Board to help get the word out to Ormewood Park, as well as help with the preparation of the charter school proposal. Also in May the community was awarded a $5,000 charter-planning grant from the Georgia Department of Education.

In June the committee used a portion of those funds to distribute a return postage-paid survey and letter to 5,000 households in Ormewood Park and Grant Park. The packet also invited participation in two community-wide brainstorming sessions to discuss the charter school proposal. At the same time, a letter outlining the proposal was mailed to area church pastors asking for input from their congregations. About 100 families responded to the survey and they outlined their greatest concerns and hopes for the new school. The two community-wide meetings were well attended and facilitated by a representative from the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education. Shortly thereafter the committee hired Consultant Meghan Walsh to help guide the charter school effort to its completion. In September the committee appointed a formal liaison to the Anne E. West PTA.

Beginning in the summer of 1999 the school committee began holding regular, monthly community meetings on the first Tuesday of each month less than a block from the site of the new school. Parents, community members, school officials and PTA members attend to hear about the progress of the charter school proposal and to learn of volunteer opportunities. Notices of these meetings are regularly listed in the Porch Press calendar of events.

In the Fall of 1999, a steering committee comprised of Ormewood Park and Grant Park parents and community members was formed to coordinate the charter writing process, which includes soliciting more community input on the proposal’s various components.

At the beginning of 2000, committee members started working on a more formal strategy for involving the Ormewood Park community in this process. A flyer with some brief information as well as contact numbers has been created and is available at each SAND meeting. A committee member is always on hand at those meetings to provide updates and answer questions. In January an advisory board created by Ms. Muhammad to assess the community’s desire for a charter school enthusiastically endorsed the charter school proposal. Its members represented community political leaders and parents from Grant Park and Ormewood Park. By March the steering committee had formally organized itself into a management team comprised of a chairman, co-chairman, secretary, treasurer, outreach coordinator and team leader coordinator.

In the spring of 2000, Atlanta Public Schools once again changed the scope

of the attendance zone for the new school, this time adding the

neighborhoods of Woodland Hills and McDonough/Guice. Once this decision was

made, the Neighborhood Charter School committee decided to expand its

leadership again to ensure that all communities affected by the school zone

were participating in the decision making processes. The steering committee

was restructured to include representatives from each neighborhood as well

as educators from each of the three schools being consolidated into the new

school. In addition, an advisory board made up of parents and professional

educators was formed to provide an expert as well as parent review of the

charter under development. The primary work in developing the charter

petition was completed by the Charter Writing Team - comprised again of

parents and educators from the community. These three committees, Steering,

Advisory, and Charter Writing, have worked closely together to develop the

charter petition and ensure that all affected communities were represented

in the process. To this end, in the summer of 2000 another outreach effort

was undertaken, with a door to door delivery of information made to every

household within the proposed attendance zone. A Neighborhood Charter

School volunteer delivered to every home within the proposed attendance zone

(well over 5000 households) information about the charter school effort and

how to become involved. Specifically, dates, times and location of all the

upcoming forums of the Charter Development Plan (see appendix E, No. 13) were

distributed with the information.

Throughout the process the school committee has kept Dr. Robert Davis, education director, Zoo Atlanta apprised of all issues and opportunities. The Zoo formally committed to working with the community on the charter school in the fall of 1999. Dr. Davis presented to the community about what the Zoo currently offers and what his expectations are for partnering with The Neighborhood Charter School.