DeKalb College & Career Academy Charter School Petition (Searchable PDF)
eboard – Meeting agenda item
07/30/2014 – McNair Charter Petition Video and Transcript
This evening at 5pm, the DeKalb Schools board will vote to approve converting Ronald McNair High School into a Start-Up Charter School over the next 6 years. As a start-up charter, DeKalb College & Career Academy Charter School will enjoy autonomy not currently granted to conversion charters. That autonomy includes personnel decisions, financial decisions, curriculum and instruction, resource allocation, establishing and monitoring the achievement of school improvement goals, and school operations.
History
Superintendent Michael Thurmond mentioned at the 04/23/2013 Tucker Parent Council that he has been working with the President of Georgia Piedmont Technical College, Jabari Simama, to setup a career academy in DeKalb County. The Technical College System of Georgia has provided a $3 million dollar grant for construction costs. Partners with this charter school include Georgia Piedmont Technical College and DeKalb businesses such as Georgia Power, DeKalb Fire and Rescue, Epps Aviation, Siemens and Oglethorpe Power.
Budget (Page 776)
The DeKalb College & Career Academy Charter School charter petition is 861 pages. In FY2006 the charter school is anticipated to have 300 students and will grow to 1500 students by FY2020. Ronald McNair High School capacity is currently 1524. The Georgia Certified Employees Salary Schedule (page 34) will serve as a guide for teacher compensation. Teachers will presumably be employees of Georgia Piedmont Technical College and can be paid more with waivers granted by the board. The starting salary of the principal will be $108K and will grow to $122K by FY2020.
Transportation (Page 36)
Despite $0 being allocated in the budget for transportation, the DeKalb College and Career Academy will provide transportation for students from central bus stops. The school will contract with DeKalb County School District for special needs students.
Performance Based Goals (Page 21)
80% of the students will meet or exceed state standards by year 1 on all Georgia Milestone assessments. Note: Georgia Milestone assessments are taking the place of CRCT and EOCT. The percentage of students who meet/exceed standards on the Georgia Milestone assessments will increase by 5% each year thus reaching 100% pass rate in 5 years.
Board Members
DeKalb College and Career Academy shall be governed by the following Governing Board of Directors:
Mr. Michael Thurmond | DeKalb County School District |
Dr.Jabari Simama | Georgia College Piedmont Technical |
Mr. Cornell McBride | McBride Research Lab |
Mr. Corbett Davis | DeKalb Fire and Rescue |
Ms. Sadie Dennard | Georgia Power |
Mr. Ray Cheek | Snapping Shoals |
Ms. Janet Spaulding | VideoLarm |
Ms. Deidre Pierce | Georgia PTA |
Adrian Hylton | Miller Grove High School |