by Georgia Charter Schools Association
[Editor’s Note: Here’s a closer look at the efforts taken by Ivy Preparatory Academy, a state-authorized charter school, to improve the performance of boys in their Young Men’s Leadership Academy. Nobody understands the mandate to “improve or close” better than Georgia’s public charter schools. If passed, the Governor’s proposal for Opportunity School Districts (OSD) will put the same pressure on all public schools. We think that’s a good idea.]
By Aileen Dodd,
The leaders of Ivy Preparatory Academies are not waiting on state intervention to address declines in student achievement at Ivy Prep Young Men’s Leadership Academy (IPYMLA).
Administrators have been taking proactive steps to turn around student performance at Ivy Prep’s single-gender school for boys since declines were noted on the state Criterion-Referenced Competency Test and benchmark exams.
In May 2014, Ivy Prep Academies contracted the services of Yardstick Learning, one of the nation’s leading strategic management consulting firms that specializes in the organizational transformation and turnaround of struggling mission-driven organizations. Yardstick, part of a task force to improve student achievement at IPYMLA, has been meeting with administrators to discuss enrollment, instruction, and examine policy and procedures at Ivy Prep schools. Yardstick has provided support services to K-12 school districts, universities, and charter management organizations in six countries.
“We’re the first to admit when a policy or procedure isn’t working, and we work tirelessly to fix it—that’s what being a charter school is all about for us,” said Mrs. Victoria Wiley, executive director of Ivy Preparatory Academies. “The Yardstick team is eager to continue its work with Ivy Prep and respond to the urgent needs of IPYMLA. Their track record of successfully turning around struggling organizations is impressive.”
In addition to organizing a turnaround team of consultants, local and national education experts and administrators, IPYMLA began other school improvement measures:
Last fall, the school added a new level of coaching and support for IPYMLA teachers called “Ivy University” (Ivy U), which is led by Dr. Nina Gilbert, founder of Ivy Preparatory Academies. Dr. Gilbert launched Georgia’s first single gender charter school for girls in 2008 and currently is Executive Director of the Ivy Prep Foundation. Under her leadership, Ivy Prep experienced tremendous growth, and now operates three single gender charter schools serving over 1,200 students throughout Metro Atlanta.
IPYMLA also invited parents to join the effort to turnaround the test scores of their own scholars. IPYMLA launched a pilot program called “Academic Parent Teacher Teams” or (APTT) to improve student achievement. The outreach gets parents more involved in the education of their scholars and equips them with the tools and training to enrich their children’s studies in Language Arts and Mathematics at home.
IPYMLA, located at 1807 Memorial Drive, is a school of 360 students. Nearly eight in ten scholars qualify for free or discounted lunch. The single-gender school was among 141 struggling schools—27 of which are neighboring DeKalb County Schools—included on a state list of struggling schools that could face a state takeover to improve student performance on standardized test scores tracked by the Georgia College and Career Ready Index. Many of the 141 schools have high populations of low-income students and received accountability scores that were below 60 on an index that measures the efficiency of schools.
Nearly 30 percent of IPYMLA’s students come from DeKalb County elementary feeder schools currently on the state’s struggling schools’ list. Some of those students have seen growth at Ivy Prep. According to results from the 2014 CRCT:
Nearly 30 percent of IPYMLA’s students come from DeKalb County elementary feeder schools currently on the state’s struggling schools’ list. Some of those students have seen growth at Ivy Prep. According to results from the 2014 CRCT:
- YMLA middle school scholars out-performed their district counterparts in math with 82 percent of students meeting and exceeding standards compared to 76 percent of DeKalb students meeting and exceeding.
- YMLA elementary scholars also out-performed their district peers in reading with 94 percent of students meeting and exceeding expectations compared to 91 percent of DeKalb students.
The progress made makes administrators hopeful that the task force can reverse declines.
“We believe this network of support from the community, our partners, and our parents will improve the performance of our scholars at YMLA,” Wiley said. “We all have a stake in their success. We will not wait on a tentative state program to step in and fix our school when we as a community can produce results working together hand in hand.”
Gov. Nathan Deal’s recovery effort would require a constitutional amendment to launch.
Administrators at Ivy Prep Academies welcome the state’s participation in the effort to help economically disadvantaged students have access to quality schools regardless of their addresses. It is a space that Ivy Prep Academies has been working in successfully since it launched its flagship high-performing charter school for girls in Gwinnett in 2008.
Parents have been supportive of IPYMLA’s plans to fix itself. IPYMLA, which opened in 2011, is one of two state charter schools on the needs recovery list that includes 139 traditional public schools, many of which have been underperforming for more than a decade.
“We have always taught our son that it is not okay to give up,” said Pamela Jefferson, who has a fourth grader at IPYMLA. “Perseverance is one of the values also taught at Ivy Prep. I don’t think the declines in student performance are the school’s fault. Some students are excelling. My son knows what’s going on in the world. We sit at the dinner table and talk about math. He loves to do research. If you want your son to excel, parents and children have to change old habits and work hard to lead the change at home.”
D. Aileen Dodd is president of D. Aileen Dodd & Associates Media Services and media relations coordinator for Ivy Preparatory Academy
The views and opinions expressed on CharterConfidential are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any agency.
Georgia Charter Schools Association
The Georgia Charter Schools Association (GCSA) is the membership organization for Georgia’s charter school operators and petitioners, established in 2001. Our mission is to be an effective advocate and service provider for all charter public schools in Georgia.
