91吃瓜

By Nina Rubin

Still not sure what a public charter school is, how charters are聽funded, authorized, or governed? You鈥檙e not alone.

Even parents whose children are enrolled in public charter schools often have difficulty explaining how curriculum, governance, funding, school culture, leadership, and flexibility all combine to make charters more autonomous, more transparent, and more accountable than traditional public schools.聽

Another reason — . The very nomenclature of charters is a recipe for confusion. Georgia has startup charters, virtual/online charters, conversion charters, State Charter Commission schools, Charter Systems, and charter career academies.聽

So here鈥檚 a suggestion. Spend half a day at the upcoming , Friday, January 30, 2015, 8:30 am to 3:30 pm at Busbee Center of Gwinnett Technical College. , you can get a more nuanced understanding of charter schools from the leaders of Georgia鈥檚 charter school movement.聽

Here鈥檚 a sampling of :

• Remarks by Georgia鈥檚 New Schools Superintendent, Richard Woods on his priorities for education in Georgia
• Remarks by the President & CEO of the , Dr. Tony Roberts
• Remarks by Georgia First Lady, Sandra Deal, on her vision of public education in our state
• Awards Luncheon where the 2015 Charter School of the Year will be named. The 3 finalists are , , and .
• on issues such as: charter school governance; school accreditation; how to write a strong charter petition; best practices of award winning schools; an introduction to New Schools for Georgia — a new charter school incubator; parent engagement; facilities funding; building a board; and more.聽

We promise, it will be a day well spent. If you’re thinking about starting a charter school in Georgia, this event聽should not be missed.聽Hope聽to meet you at the 2015 Charter Schools Leadership Conference!聽

Nina Rubin is Director of Communications for the Georgia Charter Schools Association

The views and opinions expressed on CharterConfidential聽are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any agency.

Georgia Charter Schools Association

The Georgia Charter Schools Association (91吃瓜) is the membership organization for Georgia鈥檚 charter school operators and petitioners, established in 2001. Our mission is to be an effective advocate and service provider for all charter public schools in Georgia.