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Development Plan Report

Background: The Development Plan was implemented to share the initial draft of the charter with the community in order to keep the community informed and to receive feedback from all interested families, community members, and local leaders. The goal was to make the draft easily available to anyone who was interested and to provide a variety of forums for people to voice their opinions and suggestions about what they would like to see in the final charter petition. Our pledge has been to then evaluate this feedback closely and incorporate the community’s sentiments into the final charter petition. This document is an effort to summarize varying points of view expressed on key areas of the draft charter, without taking any position on either side. It is intended to be a starting point for our discussions and decisions on the final version of the charter.

Communication: The plan was communicated to every household within the affected community through several means. First, a flyer was developed outlining the over 20 locations where the charter could be accessed and reviewed as well as announcing the date, time and locations of the over 15 forums scheduled for community discussion of the charter. The draft charter was made available at local businesses, churches, and on the Internet. The flyer was then hand delivered to every household within the proposed attendance zone of the school, a total of more than 5000 homes. It was also delivered to the principals of the three existing schools within this zone that are most significantly affected - Slaton, Guice, and West. The flyer contained a Spanish-speaking contact and a Spanish version of the flyer was distributed in the areas of the community where large Spanish-speaking populations reside. The plan was communicated to local pastors and politicians as well as shared at the neighborhood association meetings for the affected neighborhoods (GPNA, SAND). The plan was also published in the local community newspaper - the Porch Press - which is delivered to every household within the affected attendance zone.

The following forums were held:

Three community meetings were held at Southside High School

Two small group/individual sessions were held at Guice Elementary and the Ga-Hill Facility.

Three educator-only meetings were held at Southside High School.

A meeting with local pastors was held at the Ga. Ave. church.

One Spanish-speaking forum was held at Inglesia San Felipe de Jesus

One leadership meeting with local elected officials and community leaders was hosted by City Councilman Vern McCarty.

Two meetings with local preschools were held.

A phone number, PO Box address, and email address were all included in the original flyer for individuals to use to leave questions or general comments.

In addition, comment pages were left with all the draft charters distributed throughout the community were individuals could leave suggestions.

Discussions were also held at the monthly school committee meetings, which are open to the community.

Three small group/individual sessions to be held at the August PTA meetings of Slaton, Guice, and West.

An on-line chat discussion was held.

Over 150 people participated in these forums.

The following summarizes much of the feedback received from community participants in all of the various forums:

Calendar year - This was a topic at almost every meeting. While many individuals felt year-round education is an educationally sound option to pursue, there were also a significant number of concerns expressed that neither APS nor the city of Atlanta have the infrastructure to support this calendar. It was discussed that educationally it offers children a better way to learn because the summer break is much shorter so less time is spent at the beginning of the school year “catching up”. In addition, the more frequent breaks give both children and teachers an often needed rest or the opportunity for children who are falling behind to catch up before the end of the school year when it may be too late. The challenge of how parents would manage breaks throughout the calendar that did not fall in the traditional summer months - when Atlanta does have a large number of programs for children out of school - was discussed at length. A number of ideas were suggested: contacting Centennial Place to get more information about how a school manages these issues and perhaps working in conjunction with the programs they have, working with Zoo Atlanta to have special camps during the breaks, having enrichment programs/camps at the school during the breaks, etc. However, the logistics and cost of managing these breaks were viewed as significant deterrents to pursuing a year-round calendar. One suggestion was to leave the flexibility within the charter to change to year-round schedule later in the charter if the families at the school decide that is what would work best for them.

Parent Involvement/Contracts - At the preschool meetings, it was felt by the vast majority that the Parent Contract should be a significant piece of the charter. The preschool directors and parents who attended the meetings felt that parents only meeting minimum obligations - such as getting children to school on time - were insufficient for the success of a charter school. Parents suggested contracts which specified number of volunteer hours, workdays, PTA membership, etc. Many felt that without this type of clearly defined expectations, the parent-managed structure of a charter school could not be maintained. The community meetings also had discussions about parent involvement. Most participants at those meetings agreed with the idea of a parent contract. However, some were concerned that parents from economically disadvantaged families might have difficulty fulfilling more than minimal requirements. Other participants said that concern unfairly underestimates the abilities of all parents and undermines the concept of a parent-governed school. At the small group meetings, the issue of realistic expectations was also discussed - however it focused on coming up with creative ways to help parents who are not accustomed to participating to find ways to do so - such as coupling PTA meetings with talent shows and other events for which there are normally large turnouts of parents or coupling PTA meetings with Saturday morning “work days” at the school so that parents could get in volunteer time at the same time they attend a meeting - making less demands on their time. Again, most of the parents at these meetings felt that expectations had to be higher than meeting the minimum, however there was discussion that a number of parents possibly would not meet these expectations.

Parents with children already in APS schools expressed the desire to make sure that their needs and concerns as parents were respected. Many expressed that they currently do not feel welcome to make suggestions about how the school is run and want to make sure that this will change with a charter school. Teachers indicated they would like parents held responsible for reading to students, making sure children are prepared for school with supplies, etc, meeting with teachers, and donating some time to the school.

Several draft parent contracts were also circulated for feedback.

Having parent workshops as well as diversity training for staff and parents were also suggested and strongly supported.

Population/Attendance zone - Many parents did not know the boundaries of the attendance zone for the schools or the rationale behind them. Many expressed concerns about over-crowding after seeing a detailed map of the zone and details of the size of the expected student population. It was explained that we were accepting the APS proposed zone for the school to ensure that no child was excluded from their assigned public school and in an effort to work cooperatively with APS.

There have also been expressions of what the demographics of the students at the school might be. This is a difficult question because of the changing nature of the neighborhoods of the school community. Some participants felt a majority of students in the school will be free-lunch eligible children - as is the case currently at Slaton, Guice, and West - and that the school’s programs should focus primarily on the special needs of those children. Other participants felt that the changing economic demographics of Grant Park, Ormewood Park and neighboring areas reduce some of the need for such special programs. This was a complicated issue because it affects the types and level of programs in place at the school, as well as the appeal of the school to the parents throughout the communities. Many participants said that regardless of changing demographics, the school must serve the special needs of all children but also ensure that it is welcoming and attractive to all children regardless of economic background.

ESOL - Many parents initially indicated interest in an English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) program at the school. However, once the attendance zone was reviewed many supported having an ESOL program designed to serve those students living within the school’s defined attendance zone, as opposed to serving as an APS cluster school for ESOL students from throughout the Atlanta Public School system.

Special programs and funding - There was discussion about how realistic it is to plan for staff and programs outside of APS’s standard school staffing levels. Many participants wanted to see several special needs programs and/or staff (problem solving, health programs, programs to address behavior problems, conflict resolution, parent education programs, family support program, special needs/education programs, additional social workers), incorporated into the charter. There was recognition of the value and desirability of many of these programs. However, concerns were also expressed that the financial requirements and human resources needed for those programs and the entire school are still not clear. Some participants said we should be cautious not to overly commit to programs that we end up unable to afford or support, or that raise doubts about the overall viability of our plan for operating the school.

Board input - Board members present at the leadership meeting indicated that they will be looking to APS staff to determine if our charter is viable. They want us to get input from APS staff who are responsible for key areas such as instruction and finance. Without endorsement of these staffers, Board members will be unlikely to support the petition. There was significant discussion about how to get APS staff to cooperate with the charter writing team members as there has been difficulty with this to date. There was also discussion about how APS would react to housing this school in the brand new facility being constructed on Confederate Ave. in Grant Park, and whether it was appropriate for APS to charge the charter school rent for the facility. There was discussion of how the charter school committee had decided to pursue locating the school in this facility at the encouragement of APS board members and staff.

Specific Teacher Input - Teachers discussed the critical need for a block of planning time, scheduling of the day in general, and having supplies readily available.

Other ideas suggested included “peer coaching”, additional Instructional Technologist Specialist staff person separate from the technology maintenance staff; “core knowledge”, “Reading Recovery”, “K+ and 1+”, Horticulture, mentoring programs, speech therapy. Again, the issue of limited funding and the need to choose between programs was discussed. “Too many lofty goals” were cautioned against and the need to prioritize and start slowly were emphasized.

Physical Education was discussed. Many said they would really like to see recess as well as structured PE, but that schedules need to be flexible so that those activities do not interfere with classroom schedules.

Personnel and governing issues were discussed as well, and suggestions were made as to how the administrative staff should function and the pros and cons of whether teachers and staff should be APS employees or not. Teachers discussed whether the charter should allow for “creative” hiring outside of typical requirements. Many talked about the need for consistent leadership, including the need for the governance council to have a clear leader with authority to end discussions and bring matters to a vote so decisions could be made. In addition, caution of having parents trying to act as professional educators was made. Teachers said having a board that works on policy, not micromanaging the teachers would be critical to teacher satisfaction. Teachers expressed the need to be heard and included in decision-making processes as well as to kept well informed of the decisions being made.

Discipline policy - some teachers discussed the need for a clear policy on discipline that they are truly allowed to enforce and that the school supports consistently.

Vision - There was much debate as to the “vision” of the charter school. Is it too vague or are we trying to commit to too much? Some participants feel the school does not have enough “uniqueness” about it to “sell” it to APS. Some feel the curriculum should have further specified goals outside of the standard goals of APS, as well as unique teaching methods and theories incorporated into it. Some would like to see extensive support programs implemented for teachers and students and their families. Others have expressed caution that the charter is a legally binding contract between the charter school and APS and that whatever we detail we will be held accountable for funding and accomplishing and that we need to be realistic in what we can really do the first few years in a large, start-up school. Others feel that there is already the basis for a very strong vision -- strong parental involvement and community support and an expanded partnership with Zoo Atlanta -- and that we should focus on further developing these points. Some participants talked that the legislation creating charter schools was enacted in an effort to get parents and community more involved in their local public schools - not necessarily to create new teaching methods or programs for schools. There was discussion that the Zoo Partnership, if taken successfully to its full end would be a tremendous asset to the charter school and the entire school district as APS would receive a fully integrated Zoo curriculum that they could implement at other schools in the system.

Transportation - APS uses a one mile radius for determining who will be provided bus service. There has been debate as to whether this standard should be adopted by the charter school, particularly for certain areas of the zone which are just outside the one-mile radius. Many participants felt that the school must adopt the APS one-mile standard, while others felt it should be used as a guide, not the final decision.

Nutrition - Many parents were concerned about the quality of the food served in public schools. Many would like to see this as a priority of the charter. At the same time, it was discussed that we have to be realistic about how much we can accomplish in the first year or two of the charter. Some want to address changing nutrition right away, others want to address it immediately, but think we should go with APS’s food service for the first year, with the option to change this later if the school’s governing board decides to.

Zoo partnership - Many parents, while very excited by this concept, would like clarification on exactly what this means and would like to see some examples of zoo curriculum. Several participants said they were excited about the partnership because it appears to be a much more involved relationship with the Zoo than is currently in place at other APS schools.

Constructivism - Most teachers reacted very enthusiastically about this being the educational philosophy of the school. Most parents wanted more information about exactly what this means and how it will be carried out in the classroom. One letter was received from a parent strongly against using this philosophy.

Arts and music: Arts and music were noted to be missing from the charter. Existing partnership between West and the Alliance theater was discussed and desire to continue this partnership at the charter school. Meghan Walsh, our education consultant, indicated we need to pursue letters of intent from all current partners at West, Guice, and Slaton to make sure we continue these relationships at the Charter. Some suggested that Arts and Music could be incorporated after the charter is approved. Others felt strongly that those programs should be outlined in our petition.

After school programs - Parents wanted to know what type of after-school care, if any, would be offered by the school. Some participants also discussed the complexities of administering such programs, and the current after-school programs of existing schools. It was also discussed that this might become a goal for after the charter is accepted, not for inclusion with the charter petition.

Gardens - At a number of meetings, the idea of having gardens on the school grounds was raised and enthusiastically reacted to. However, it was also discussed that this is an issue that may not necessarily need to be included in the charter petition.

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