If you are interested in starting a charter school in Georgia, the Georgia Charter Schools Association has a grant for you! The Georgia Charter Schools Association (GCSA) is pleased to announce competitive grants of up to $75,000 to support founding school leaders to open charter schools within Atlanta Public Schools.
Incubator grants allow applicants to devote their time and energy towards launching a high-quality charter school. These grants support the cost of living expenses for applicants, making it possible for them to focus their efforts on launching high-quality schools rather than balancing the intense demands of opening a school while working full-time.
There is currently a great need in the city of Atlanta for high-quality public school options. Just three years ago, 44 of Atlanta’s 73 schools were considered for a potential state takeover. A 2016 study revealed that based on the school report card grades given by the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement, almost 60% of schools would be considered low quality (score of below 70) and only 21% could be considered high quality (score of 80 or above). There is also a high demand by Atlanta families for additional options outside of the traditional schools their children are zoned for by address. The combined waitlists for charter schools located in Atlanta Public Schools currently exceed 9,000 applications.
The Georgia Charter Schools Association created its Charter Incubator program to ensure students of all backgrounds have greater access to excellent educational opportunities through the development of strong leaders and additional high-quality school options. The GCSA Charter Incubator grants are designed to support incubator candidates as they work with Georgia Charter Schools Association to provide Atlanta families with additional public school options that can boost academic performance for their children and strengthen the entire public school system in the city of Atlanta.
GCSA’s Incubator Program allows participants to get the individualized coaching they need to get their charter petitions approved in Georgia. During last year’s petition cycle 100 percent of the GCSA Charter Incubator candidates who applied to the State Charter Schools Commission received approval.
Those applying for the GCSA Charter Incubator grants must meet eligibility requirements to be considered. These requirements include: The identification of a school leader (principal) as part of the application team; The identified school leader (principal) must have experience with school-based leadership, which could include a variety of leadership roles within a school such as, an Instructional Coach, school-based Professional Learning Community (PLC) Lead, Dean, Assistant Principal, or Principal; and the application team or school founder must plan to open their school within Atlanta Public Schools’ attendance zone
