Charter District Petitin Cmmunity Engagement Sessin Lakeside HS 08/27/2014 Cmmunity Member #1 (Cmment) Schls that are centers fr Special Educatin have students attending schls frm utside f their neighbrhds. (Cmment) Funds are nt being released t Tapestry Charter. Wuld schls that d nt get the funding be able t refuse students that are attending the Special Educatin Center schls that d nt reside in the attendance zne? Cmmunity Member #2 Hw will this affect the schl chice prgrams and sibling preference? Cmmunity Member #3 Will becming a Charter System affect hw the clusters are currently set up (i.e. attendance lines)? Cmmunity Member #4 What is the implementatin timeline if the petitin is apprved? Cmmunity Member #5 Can individual charters be created after the district becmes a Charter System? Cmmunity Member #6 Can yu elabrate n what innvative things can be dne t get the petitin apprved (the petitin has t include items that the district can t currently d)? Can yu give examples f waivers the district might include in the petitin? D charter schls get blanket waivers like the Charter System schls? Cmmunity Member #7 T what extent wuld this prpsal allw the Druid Hills charter petitin t prceed?
Wuld this allw the lcal schls t run their schls independent f the district ffice? (Cmment) I believe in small cmmunity schls. I am knwledgeable abut what happens in ur cmmunity. We wuld be mre successful if we weren t under the cntrl f the district. Cmmunity Member #8 Wuld the lcal schls have t g t the district r state nce they decide n the waivers r innvative ideas they wuld like t implement? Cmmunity Member #9 What is the expected impact n smaller schls? Wuld they pssibly clse? Cmmunity Member #10 What happens if ne r mre f the schls are struggling t meet the gals? Des that impact the entire district? Cmmunity Member #11 What is the reality f creating all f the gvernance bards successfully? Are yu cnsidering all 137 schls rlling ut in ne year r ver the curse f five years? If this happens, and a schl wants t implement an innvative idea r cncept and the district says n, what happens? Cmmunity Member #12 Where des the funding cme frm t implement this initiative? Cmmunity Member #13 What is meant by gvernance teams fcusing n gvernance nt administrative cncerns? Cmmunity Member #14 In cmmunities where implementing the gvernance bards can be challenging, etc what wuld happen?
Cmmunity Member #15 Currently, there are Special Educatin students that are being allwed t attend schls that huse certain Special Educatin prgrams frm acrss the district. Will they be directed t attend their hme schls, r the schls that they are currently attending? Cmmunity Member #16 What is the definitin f a lcal gvernance bard (individual, cluster, pairings, etc )? Cmmunity Member #17 (Cmment) There is a vice that has been left ut f this prcess? (Cmment) The State Bard has said that we culd still request waivers under the Status Qu ptin. (Cmment) We are ging t have the haves and have nts (Cmment) Blanket waivers will further be a disadvantage fr ur students. Cmmunity Member #18 Hw des the autnmy fit int the Bard maintaining their current rle? Will the lcal schl gvernance bards still have t gain apprval thrugh the district ffice? What is the Schl Bard s rle with lcal schl gvernance teams? (Cmment) There is a cncern with the fact that in the past the district has had majr prblems managing the flexibility and waivers they have had, why wuld we give them less restrictin (that s nt gd)? Cmmunity Member #19 What will the schl s relatinships be with each ther? What s n the list f nn- negtiables? D schls have t innvate under this mdel? Cmmunity Member #20 Once the petitin is drafted, will there be additinal public meetings n the petitin? Cmmunity Member #21 What will be the specifics n what a lse cntrl is versus a tight cntrl?
Cmmunity Member #22 Is it still the Bard s decisin if after we becme a Charter System if there are schls that wuld still like t pursue cnversin charter status? Cmmunity Member #23 (Cmment) Charter schls are nt gd r bad. (Cmment) It takes parental invlvement and gd teachers t make a successful schl system. (Cmment) We shuld prceed cautiusly int this; there is nt enugh research n hw this impacts student achievement. Cmmunity Member #24 Des the lcal gvernance team still g thrugh the district ffice fr special requests r waivers that require funding? Cmmunity Member #25 What is the Superintendent and Bard s mtivatin t mve t a Charter System? What are the advantages and disadvantages f becming a Charter System? Are there particular gals in mind with this decisin? Cmmunity Member #26 What happens if the petitin is nt apprved? (Cmment) The district has t be able t shw that they are willing t give lcal autnmy. (Cmment) By the Bard nt apprving the Druid Hills charter petitin, the district is prving it is nt willing and ready t give that autnmy. Cmmunity Member #27 What is a realistic expectatin f when the petitin will be ready fr public viewing? Cmmunity Member #28 When the petitin is presented, will there be a budget fr the verhead f the implementatin? Is there a timeframe fr when we will see that?
Cmmunity Member #29 Des the district have a mdel f what they wuld like t see (i.e. clusters, individual schls, r the entire district)? Cmmunity Member #30 Wuld magnet schls be able t be a part f the Charter System? Cmmunity Member #31 Wh appints r selects the central ffice staff that will be apprving/denying lcal gvernance team s requests? Cmmunity Member #32 (Cmment) Trust is an issue. What are sme f the innvative ideas that principals, teachers, etc have? Are they realistic? Are there funding issues r invlvement issues? Cmmunity Member #33 What is the rush? D we have mre time t cnsider the ptins? Cmmunity Member #34 (Cmment) There is a cncern that teachers are being left ut f the prcess? (Cmment) The teachers are being asked t embrace a lt f different initiatives this schl year all at ne time (i.e. Infinite Campus, cmmn cre, new website, etc ) Cmmunity Member #35 Why did the Bard nt apprve the Druid Hills charter petitin if we are putting all f this energy and effrts int the Charter District petitin? (Cmment) N ne knws the petitin, innvative ideas assciated with the petitin. That s a majr prblem! Cmmunity Member #36 Hw d we knw that a change in principals may nt lead t a change in the innvative ideas?
Cmmunity Member #37 What lessns have been learned frm the Fultn Cunty Schl District? Cmmunity Member #38 (Cmment) The district shuld take ntes frm the Druid Hills charter petitin n what their waiver requests are and what their innvative ideas are? Cmmunity Member #39 (Cmment) I d nt want the district t have blanket waivers, as this may increase class size. That is smething the public des nt want. Cmmunity Member #40 Can yu clarify what administrative duties are versus lcal schl gvernance team duties are? D the lcal gvernance teams have t lk alike frm schl t schl? If s, why? Cmmunity Member #41 (Cmment) I dn t see hw a well- crafted petitin can be created in this time frame. (Cmment) What ges in the petitin shuld be a cmmitment frm the central ffice t apprve waiver requests that d nt break the law. Cmmunity Member #42 Hw much specificity is there n what the lcal gvernance teams will lk like? Different schls and cmmunities have different needs. If an individual schl wanted t implement smething that required a cst, wh wuld apprve that? Culd the cluster schls agree n a waiver r innvative idea? If s, wuld they be allwed t implement it? Cmmunity Member #43 Hw is the district ging t manage hiring a new Superintendent and manage this prcess at the same time? Is the Bard f Educatin including this in the search fr a new Superintendent?
Cmmunity Member #44 If the State denies the petitin, d we g back t being a Status Qu district? Will ur class size g lwer under the Status Qu ptin? Cmmunity Member #45 (Cmment) I m struggling with the lack f definitin f what the lcal schl gvernance team is and what they will lk like? Will principals and the gvernance teams be given a budget? Hw much autnmy are we talking abut? What if a schl wanted t hire a cntracted custdial service? Wuld that be allwable? Cmmunity Member #46 Are we shifting frm ne name t anther: Schl Cuncil versus Lcal Schl Gvernance Team? Cmmunity Member #47 (Cmment) The current TSA lawsuit will have a huge impact n the budget? Hw wuld this impact the lcal schl budgets? (Cmment) All f this hinges n the central ffice which has been less than favrable t the cmmunity. I dn t knw if the lack f trust in the district can be changed. Cmmunity Member #48 Why is the central ffice s reluctant t apprve charters? Is the central ffice invlved in making executive decisins r just administrative decisins? (Cmment) There needs t be a sweeping ut f the central ffice. Cmmunity Member #49 Is there a Charter System utside f the State that we culd take a lk at t mdel? (Cmment) The size f the central ffice needs t be decreased. **Culd cmmittees be setup under the lcal schl gvernance cuncils t incrprate the different needs at each schl?
Cmmunity Member #50 Wuld lcal schl partnerships be impacted? Cmmunity Member #51 (Cmment) There is a lack f cnfidence in the administratin f the DeKalb Cunty Schl District. (Cmment) The denial f the Druid Hills charter petitin speaks vlumes t the level f trust we have in the district. (Cmment) The Schl Bard needs t have serius discussins (debates) n what level f autnmy they are willing t give schls. **Cmments/questins that are in bld and italicized were highly emphasized