Atlanta, GA (January 13, 2014) — The Georgia Charter Schools Association (GCSA) convenes its first annual Charter Schools Leadership Conference, January 30-31 at Lake Oconee Academy, Greensboro, GA. The conference is the only statewide gathering of the charter school leadership community, targeting charter school founders, board members, charter school petitioners, business managers and school leaders. More than 200 leaders are expected to attend.
On the agenda are fifteen high-impact breakout and training sessions ranging from: What Autonomy Can Look Like at Your School, Finding the Right School Leader, Developing a Mission-Aligned Staff, to a CCRPI Primer for Charter Schools
Superintendent Candidates Forum
Between 12:30 pm and 2:00 pm on January 31st, the Conference hosts a candidates forum featuring Alisha Thomas Morgan, Nancy Jester, Fitz Johnson, Matt Schultz, Kira Willis, and Richard Woods – six of the candidates who have announced their bid for GA Schools Superintendent.
Awards Ceremony
Also at lunchtime, the following awards will be also presented to charter school advocates:
- Children’s Impact Award: to Governor Nathan Deal, for enabling and supporting the growth of high quality public charter schools in Georgia
- Coca-Cola Foundation 2014 Charter School of the Year: Winning school receives a $50,000 grant from The Coca-Cola Foundation to support their mission and efforts. – finalists include Atlanta Neighborhood Charter School, Brighten Academy, and Oglethorpe Charter School
- Power to the Parents Award: to Arle Wilson-Dixon, Fulton Leadership Academy
Charter School Facts:
The charter school sector is growing steadily in Georgia. Today there are 338 public charter schools of all types in the state. They are tuition-free public schools that operate with more freedom from state and local regulation than traditional public schools. Charter schools are held to high academic standards in return for more flexibility and autonomy.
The Georgia Charter Schools Association is the non-profit membership organization for Georgia’s public charter schools and petitioners. Its mission is to advance awareness of public charter schools, communicate charter school needs to state and local officials, support legislation to strengthen public charter schools in Georgia and build partnerships, collaborations and grassroots support for charter schools. GCSA also provides programs and services that advance student achievement, school accountability and professional learning for charter school leaders.
