Wednesday, March 5, 2003
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Wednesday, March 5, 2003 |
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BOE eyes charter school for '04 By MONROE ROARK
The Fayette County School System is making plans to establish a charter school, and local residents are being encouraged to offer their input. The Georgia Department of Education has awarded a planning grant to the county, Superintendent John DeCotis said Tuesday, about two years after the Board of Education decided to apply. "It takes a while," he said. Charter schools are often operated by private organizations, and an application was made to Fayette's school board last fall, but it missed the annual deadline. However, it is not unusual for public school systems to operate charter schools, DeCotis said, citing Coweta County as a nearby example. Plans call for the charter school to be located at the LaFayette Educational Center near Fayette County High School in Fayetteville. It would allow the school system to offer some academic opportunities in a central location for students who cannot get want they need at their particular school. Some advanced placement classes, for instance, might not be offered at individual schools because there is not enough interest, but the interest would be there on a countywide level, DeCotis said. Subjects such as Latin, for which it is often difficult to find teachers, could be offered at a single central location in the county and available to whomever wanted to take it. Along with advanced college preparatory courses, an expanded level of career-vocational programs would also be offered, the superintendent said. The charter school is looking to partner with both Griffin Technical College and Gordon College to bring these programs and courses to Fayette. These specialized programs would also benefit the county's home-schooled students, DeCotis said, who often have difficulty finding certain courses they wish to take. Under the county's plan, the charter school, evening high school, alternative school and community school would all be consolidated in a central location, which would be more efficient for school officials as well as students and parents, DeCotis said. The first barometer of eligibility for the charter school would be the student's interest, according to DeCotis. "You can't force them to go," he said. "They have to be interested." Other guidelines for eligibility would be addressed as the program progresses, he added. The charter school would initially be for high school students, but there is a possibility of adding middle school programs down the road, DeCotis said, since the alternative school already operates at the middle school level. Funding for the school on a yearly basis would be a combination of local and state money, just like the school system is funded now, DeCotis said. Due to the nature of the process, the earliest the program could be fully implemented is the fall of 2004, he said. The county's newest high school, Whitewater High, is slated to occupy the LaFayette campus for the 2003-04 school year and then move onto its own campus in the fall of 2004. Parents seeking more information or wanting to voice their opinions and suggestions are invited to visit the school system's Web site, www.fcboe.org, and complete an online survey. A detailed abstract outlining the mission and vision of the charter school is also being posted with the survey.
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