charter system parent voices: best practices 2008-2011
DESCRIPTION
An Executive Summary of an interactive report on the Impact of parents on school governance teams in the City Schools of Decatur.TRANSCRIPT
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Charter System Parent Voices Best Practices: 2008 — 2011
©2012. IMPACTedu All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be copied or distributed without the express permission of
the publisher.
Editors: Andrea Berry, Peg Bumgardner
IMPACTedu.us
IMPACTededed OUR VISION
To build and empower teacher-parent relationships that will
positively impact student learning through the awareness
of progressive education practices.
OUR MISSION To provide virtual resources of
original and existing information on issues that impact Georgia
public school students. By educating communities
about current opportunities, advantages and their effect,
impactedu strives to strengthen the communication among all
interested stakeholders.
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Where We Started……………………………………………..……………………………….. It Takes a Community: Andrea Berry……………………………………………………. Documenting the Process: DECATUR ED TV…………………………………………. Communicating Your Work: Peg Bumgardner…….…………………..…........... Making Governance Matter: Lew Lefton………..……………......…………..……. Managing Parent Concerns: Lillian Pettus.………..……...………...………………. Closing the Math Gap: Robert Pope………...…………..…............................. Our Impact Continues……………………...…………..………………………..…………... From Process to Policy: Susan Strickland….…………….……………………………. Publications………………………………..………………………...…............................ Moving Forward……………………………..………………….………………………………..
Charter System Parent Voices Best Practices: 2008 — 2011
IMPACTedu.us
For nearly four years,
dozens of city of
Decatur parents have
worked side‐by side
with principals,
teachers, and
administrators to
provide the best
educational
experience possible
for all CSD students.
The following are the titles of the sections that are included in our full interactive report with active links in the online edition:
T he Georgia Charter Systems Act, signed into law in 2007, allows school systems to convert to charter status. After approval by the Georgia Department of Education (DOE), in June of 2008, the
City Schools of Decatur (CSD) joined Marietta City Schools, Gainesville City Schools and Warren County schools as the state’s first charter school systems. According to the Georgia Department of Education, a charter school system allows for flexibility on certain state mandates giving teachers, administrators, parents, and local school boards greater flexibility to determine the educational needs of students. In its five-year charter petition to the DOE, CSD administrators stressed the shared governance model under which it would operate: the Board of Education, a System Charter Leadership Team, and local School Leadership Teams. “Decatur will be the [state’s] shining star,” noted GA Board of Education member Linda Zechmann as CSD’s charter system was approved by the DOE Board. In August 2008, CSD’s first parent representatives were elected to new School Leadership Teams. “I hope our parents involved in these leadership teams can help reach out and bring in more people so that we really do have that parent-school partnership,” CSD Superintendent Dr. Phyllis Edwards told Decatur ED TV in September 2008. “That’s the only way this is going to work.”
Charter System Parent Voices Best Practices: 2008 — 2011
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Assessing where you have been is vital to any decisions you
make about the future.
200820082008
Charter System Parent Voices Best Practices: 2008 — 2011
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After training in the fall of 2008, Decatur’s first parent, teacher representatives and appointed community representatives took their seats at school leadership team tables at Clairemont Elementary School, Oakhurst Elementary School, Winnona Park Elementary School, Glennwood 4-5 Academy (now the 4-5 Academy at Fifth Avenue), Renfroe Middle School, and Decatur High School. Over the past four years, dozens of Decatur parents have volunteered their time to work side-by-side with principals, teachers, staff and administrators on school leadership teams with the goal of providing the best educational experience possible for all of the city’s students. In October 2011, as CSD’s first group of parents, teachers and community members prepared to end their governance terms, three of the first SLT members — Andrea Berry, Peg Bumgardner and Garrett Goebel — partnered with Dr. Edwards to organize governance training for incoming elected school leadership team members. Our full interactive report features the voices of community members who pioneered local governance in the City Schools of Decatur. The comments from the School Leadership Team members featured are taken directly from the presentations they made as participants on a Best Practices Panel at CSD’s School Leadership Team training in October 2011. To access our entire publication, visit our website at www.impactedu.us.
IMPACTedu.us
201220122012
“The state continues to look to Decatur to
develop what a charter system will be long-term
and what it really means.”
— MARC WISNIEWSKI
Chair, City Schools of Decatur Board of Education
201120112011
Charter System Parent Voices Best Practices: 2008 — 2011
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MANAGING PARENTS CONCERNS
Lillian Pettus Clairemont Elementary School
CLOSING THE MATH GAP
IT TAKES A COMMUNITY COMMUNICATING YOUR WORK
Robert Pope Clairemont Elementary School
Andrea Berry Former Glennwood 4-5 Academy
Peg Bumgardner Renfroe Middle School
As past members of school governance
teams, IMPACTedu’s first endeavor is to provide
information and training to existing and new school governance
teams.
This publication is the first to focus on school
governance Best Practices through the experiences of those
parents who were among the first to serve in the
city of Decatur.
Charter System Parent Voices Best Practices: 2008 — 2011
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FROM PROCESS TO POLICY MAKING GOVERNANCE MATTER
Susan Strickland Decatur High School
Lew Lefton Decatur High School
OUR INTERACTIVE PUBLICATION
F rom the moment the Georgia Board of Education approved the City Schools of Decatur System Charter, Decatur ED TV was there to provide reports on the process and progress of what CSD Board
Chair Marc Wisniewski has said is, “an exciting experiment in local school governance.” This Summary and our complete Report includes active links to video and audio features, print samples of brochures and newsletters from various CSD School Leadership Teams, and handouts presented by the parent panelists at the CSD’s October 2011 School Leadership Training event.
“Don’t be afraid to step out and ask questions. My staff and I know that our charter system work
is something we’re all doing together.”
‐ PHYLLIS EDWARDS, EdD
CSD Superintendent
201120112011
Charter System Parent Voices Best Practices: 2008 — 2011
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Three former CSD School Leadership Team members were recent candidates for the Decatur Board of Education: Robert Pope and Garrett Goebel in 2009; Peg Bumgardner and Garrett Goebel in 2011. Goebel was elected last November to a four-year Board term that began in January 2012. Former Renfroe Middle School Leadership Team member Lexie Parker
is serving on the Decatur High School committee testing a new grading system for the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme. Several School Leadership Team members participated in the
discussions on the CSD’s district accreditation review in 2011.
School Leadership Team parent members regularly serve on interview panels for new CSD teachers.
Parent members of School Leadership Teams have been participants on district-wide committees convened by CSD Superintendent Dr. Phyllis Edwards in 2011.
Two former School Leadership Team parent members are current members of the Decatur Education Foundation Board of Directors.
School Leadership Team parent members have participated in the annual Budget Work Session of the CSD Board of Education for the past three years.
A Decatur High School student sovernment representative has been a permanent member of the DHS Leadership Team since the SLT started in 2008.
At the core of our work is the School Improvement Plan and ways we can
improve achievement for all of our students.
200920092009 Clairemont Elementary School Math Academy
Charter System Parent Voices Best Practices: 2008 — 2011
This report examines how Georgia’s charter systems are performing against other Georgia public schools during the 2010-2011 school year.
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Published in 2010 by the district office, this case study documents the road that the City Schools of Decatur took in its decision to convert to a Georgia charter system.
2010‐2011 GA Department of Education Charter Systems Report
Journey to Sustainable Success: The City Schools of Decatur Charter Story
The following reports may be useful in understanding the work of charter school systems in Georgia:
“Many parents have always taken active roles
in the City Schools of Decatur. Our system
charter governance plan just codifies that.”
‐ THOMAS VAN SOELEN, PhD
CSD Associate Superintendent
201220122012
doe.k12.ga.us
csdecatur.net
Charter System Parent Voices Best Practices: 2008 — 2011
I MPACTedu was founded to enhance and empower teacher-parent relationships that will positively impact student learning through the awareness of progressive education practices.
We will provide virtual resources of original and exiting information on issues that impact Georgia public school students. By educating communities about current opportunities, advantages and their effect, we believe we can strengthen the communication among all interested stakeholders.
As school districts in Georgia face a 2013 state deadline to choose one of three operating systems: IE2, Charter System or status quo, many charter systems across the state are examining the impact of their local school governance work and making decisions about whether to remain a charter system. With this deadline, others are looking for information and success stories of current school governance teams to help them in the decision-making process.
We believe strengthened relationships based on sharing knowledge and experiences will improve the quality of school governance teams. This, in turn, will support the teaching and learning process in the classroom. As past members of school governance teams, our first endeavor is to provide information and training to existing and new school governance teams. This publication is the first to focus on school governance Best Practices through the experiences of those who have served.
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PEG BUMGARDNER IMPACTedu
email: [email protected]
ANDREA BERRY IMPACTedu
email: [email protected]
By educating communities about
opportunities, advantages and their
impact, we believe we can strengthen
communication among all interested
stakeholders.
Charter System Parent Voices Best Practices: 2008 — 2011
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Our special thanks to the countless numbers of parents, teachers, staff,
administrators, district and state board members who are volunteering
their time to improve local school governance since charter school
systems began in the state of Georgia in 2008.
Take a photo of the QR Code on the left with your mobile phone to see a video comment on the value of this publication from Glennwood Elementary School Leadership Team member Emily Kandetzski.
IMPACTedu.us
Charter System Parent Voices Best Practices: 2008 — 2011
Let us know what
information you want to share or how we can help
you in your school community.
Visit our website and connect with us on
social media to keep up to date on our work.