Presenters: Martha Giddens Nesbit, Dr. Tony Roberts, Dr. Ben Scafidi
Please join GCSA on Wednesday, March 7, for a special presentation at the 2018 Georgia Charter Schools Conference: “Celebrating 20 Years of Start-Up Charters in Georgia: 1998-2018.” The presentation will feature Oglethorpe Charter School Founding Board Member Martha Nesbit, GCSA President and CEO Tony Roberts and KSU Professor Ben Scafidi. Register for the conference HERE!
Georgia’s first charter law allowed only for Conversion Charter Schools. Start-Up Charter schools were enabled by legislation passed in 1998. The movement was spearheaded not by an educator, but a Mother, Food Critic, and incredible cook and author—Martha Nesbit from Savannah Georgia. Her saga took her to the Capitol, then the local school board, and eventually to the foundation of Oglethorpe Charter School, which was the State’s first start-up charter. Nesbit will share with us the trials, tears and terrific results from those efforts in her presentation: “Martha Nesbit’s Recipe for Charter Schools.”
Since 1998, much has happened in Georgia’s Charter movement. For over a decade of that time, Dr. Tony Roberts has served as the 
President and CEO of Georgia Charter Schools Association, the primary advocate and supporter of charters in Georgia. Tony will present an overview of the milestones, progress and setbacks of the past ten years in Georgia’s charter history: “Many Steps Forward, One Big Step Back.”
The history of charters in Georgia is far from over. Student and parental demand continue to fuel the upward spiral of growth for more charter choice across Georgia. There remain many obstacles and opportunities for charters in Georgia. One of Georgia’s pre-eminent educators and economists with expertise in education and urban policy, Dr. Ben Scafidi, will focus on the future with his presentation: “What Should Georgia Charter School Policy Be in 2020?”
