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DECATUR, Ga. (AP) — DeKalb County could soon become the latest metro Atlanta school system to pursue charter school status.
All Georgia school districts must decide by summer 2015 whether to maintain their current structure or pursue a charter school status, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported (http://bit.ly/1gH0wI0 ).
The charter school status is expected to move more decision-making from the central office to school buildings.
If DeKalb County opts for charter school status, it would join Fulton County in that category.
Gwinnett County, Georgia's largest school district, chose a middle ground, becoming an "Investing in Educational Excellence" district and keeping more central control than a charter system.
DeKalb County Superintendent Michael Thurmond is recommending charter status instead of the status quo or the middle ground selected by Gwinnett.
Stateside, the charter system model does not offer as much autonomy as a regular startup charter school gets, said Andrew Lewis, executive vice president of the Georgia Charter Schools Association. Still, it's a shift in that direction, he said.
"It's pushing some decision-making down to the school level," he said.
In DeKalb County, Superintendent Michael Thurmond is recommending charter status. But Thurmond says he would grant autonomy only to schools that demonstrate the capacity to lead, raising questions among some parents.
"We're hoping to get more details about how that will happen," said Maggie Anderson, a parent who serves on the governance council at Chamblee Charter High School. "We're ready to do that."
The DeKalb County system is expected to take up the issue when it meets May 5.
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Information from: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, http://www.ajc.com
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