Passage of GA charter schools amendment unleashes demand for leadership training and technical assistance.
Atlanta (December 12, 2012) – Following the November 6th victory for the charter schools amendment, interest in Georgia’s public charter school sector is at an all-time high. The Georgia Charter Schools Association (GCSA) has responded with a stepped-up 2013 schedule of professional trainings, expanding the scope of its current CharterUniversity offerings.
GCSA is already a national leader in training educational professionals to launch, lead and grow effective charter schools through its CharterLeader degree programs. These include an Ed.S. Leadership Certification Program, and a non-degree program for entrepreneurial school leaders.
Though GCSA has worked for many years with petitioner groups through its CharterStart program, the passage of amendment one has unleashed unprecedented interest from parents, teachers and community groups who want to learn more about chartering.
“Our office has been flooded with phone calls and emails with requests for information on how to open and successfully operate a public charter school,” says Kelly Cadman, GCSA’s V.P. for School Services. “The petitioning process is complex and the timeline from concept to approval can be long. For that reason we have launched a new class, Charter Development 101, a first step in orienting potential petitioners about what is required to launch a high quality charter school.”
Designed for individuals and groups, the four hour CharterDevelopment 101 class costs $75 per person, with discounts available for groups of three or more. It will be offered in five locations across the state. Contact Elisa Falco, efalco@gacharters.org, 404- 5509-9401 for details.
- 1/12 Atlanta
- 2/23 Columbus
- 3/2 Savannah
- 4/13 Valdosta
- 5/18 Macon
To keep up with expected growth in the charter school sector, and to build a robust charter school leadership pipeline, GCSA will substantially expand its existing leadership and teacher certification training programs in 2013. These include:
- CharterTeacher GaTAAP Program — a performance based, job-embedded teacher preparation program offering multiple pathways for candidates to earn a clear, renewable teaching certificate.
- CharterTeacher Pre GaTAPP Program – an aspiring teacher preparation program that trains those seeking to teach in PK-12 grade classrooms. It supports candidates as they transition from careers other than education into classroom teaching.
- CharterLeader – a suite of degree and non-degree programs for educational professionals who want to start, lead, replicate and/or expand a public charter school.
- CharterEndorsements — helps teachers earn add- on endorsements in Gifted Education, English as a Second Language (ESOL), Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB). The trainings not only make teachers more valuable to their schools, in some cases they generate extra revenue for the school.
Registration for these GCSA trainings is underway and applicants need to respond quickly. Some are grant-funded to support some or all tuition costs. For further information on GCSA Training Programs, contact Juli Sergi, jsergi@gacharters.org.
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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.
