by Cynthia Curtis

The landscape of public school education in Georgia changed with the introduction of charter schools in 1995. (The state enacted the first charter school law in 1993.) Charters are public schools that are run independently, according to the terms of a contract, or charter, and have more freedom to tailor their curriculum to the needs of their students. Growth in this sector has been steady. Atlanta parents today can choose from more than 35 charter schools in the greater metropolitan area.

So how do parents know if a charter school is right for their child? And with so many to choose from, how do parents select the best one for their family?

KIPP Ways Academy

While charter schools exist within the framework of public school education, they differ from traditional public schools in several ways.

Organizers of a charter school draft a contract containing a mission statement and performance standards they pledge to meet or exceed in exchange for exemption from certain local or state regulations. They are required, like other public schools, to conduct regular state testing of students. Unlike public schools, charters can be closed if they don’t meet their stated objectives or operate effectively.

The mission and target population of charters can be very specific, but the schools cannot have admissions requirements. Charters can enroll students from outside traditional educational districts to reach a certain type of student, if necessary.

Charter schools are funded similarly to other public schools. Local and state taxpayer dollars are distributed to charters on a per-pupil basis. Educational grants make up most of the charter schools’ budgets. Georgia in 2004 established a Facilities Fund for charter schools that aids in facility and transportation-related expenses.

– Cynthia Curtis

Research, research, research, says Paula Bonds, a parent and founding board member with KIPP Ways Academy in Atlanta. Bonds, a single mother of two, initially homeschooled her daughter, Nia, but eventually concluded Nia would benefit more in a classroom setting.

Bonds met with the principal, teachers and board members of a charter school in her area and enrolled Nia. However, after almost a semester, Bonds felt the academic expectations weren’t high enough. "The curriculum just wasn’t challenging Nia as much as I felt it could have," she says.

Bonds then heard about an informational session being sponsored by the Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP), which already was operating one charter in the area and was set to open two more. After the meeting, she did additional research on the program via the Internet before deciding to give it a try.

According to David Jernigan, principal at KIPP Ways, the educational program is designed for middle school students to help them achieve academic success by setting high expectations and by spending more time focused on learning.

Bonds says she’s glad she did her homework. "The strong leadership, established curriculum and support offered through KIPP have made all the difference in our experience. I know Nia is ready for the next step in her education."

In addition to researching schools or curriculum programs, Jenny Starr, a mother of four from Coweta County, says parents need to know their child’s needs and personality, especially when it comes to learning. Starr’s 10-year-old son, Drew, attended Odyssey Charter School in Newnan, but she quickly realized the fit wasn’t quite right. "One of the things that drew me to Odyssey was the flexibility in the classroom," she says, "but Drew needed more structure to keep him on task."

"We’re not saying that charters are the answer for everybody," says Andrew Lewis, interim director of the Georgia Charter Schools Association. "But we know that the presence of alternative public schools, which focus on performance, empowers parents with the ability to do their own research and decide how they want their children to be educated."

Tech High School

Of the 57 charters schools around the state, 19 are high schools; the remainder serve elementary or middle grade levels. Some charters are college preparatory, some offer a more general curriculum, while others were started specifically to meet the needs of students from certain ethnic or economic backgrounds, students with special needs, young people in need of professional counseling, international students, or even foster children.

A new charter school movement gaining momentum in Georgia, and indeed around the country, is the technical career academy, which focuses on preparing students for the workforce. Newnan’s Central Education Center (CEC), which opened in 2000, was the first of its kind in Georgia and has now been modeled by six others, including Tech High in Atlanta.

Technical career academies, in general, are "hybrid" schools blending general education, career training, and personal development, says Elisa Falco, principal at Tech High. "By using the CEC model, we’ve proven that students can enjoy a crossover of preparing for college and/or career. The options are no longer mutually exclusive."

Career academies place a strong emphasis on technical, or vocational, training through laboratory experiences, job shadowing and internships. Academies partner with local businesses, workforce development organizations and technical colleges to offer students "relevant" training and job-placement opportunities. Students often graduate from these academies with nationally recognized certifications and credits toward college degrees.

"We’ve created a new kind of high school," says Mark Whitlock, CEC’s chief executive officer. "By giving students both the academic preparation and technical skills they’ll need to succeed in today’s economy, we’ve given students a jump on a viable career path before they even graduate from high school."

Regardless of the target population or mission of a charter, all promise higher student achievement in exchange for exemption from certain local and state regulations, Lewis says. And, according to the Georgia Department of Education, charter schools in general have made the grade when it comes to student performance.

In its Annual Report on Charter Schools, published in December 2006, the GDOE offers evidence that Georgia’s charter school students are outperforming their public school peers in several key areas, says Andrew Broy, director of the GDOE’s Charter School Division.

Most notably, charter school students surpassed their public school peers in meeting state testing goals, or Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), at a rate of 87.8 percent to 78.7 percent, respectively. In addition, charter school students graduated at a rate of 83.6 percent compared to 69.5 percent of public school students in 2006.

Jill Meiser, a parent and founding board member from Imagine International Academy of Smyrna (IIAS), says she is pleased with the validation of charter school success found in the annual report. However, she also recognizes that charters are just one of the educational options available to parents. She lives in a school system with several reputable elementary schools, but she still chose Imagine because of its "enormous focus on results and performance."

"Setting higher performance standards and achieving them are requirements that are written into the very charter that permit our school to exist," Meiser says. "That increased accountability to the students and their families made IIAS an easy choice for us."