Barrow CountyThe Past 6 Years2003 2009

Enrollment 9315 12459

40% 56%% Free/Reduced Lunch

% ELL 4% 9%

Graduation Rate 59.5% 75.5%

16% 13%% of Students Served inSpecial Education

Barrow CountyThe Past 6 Years

Ethnicity

2003 2009

Asian 6% 6%Black 12% 13%Hispanic 5% 11%White 76% 65%Multi‐Racial 2% 5%

ELC8 Elementary Schools

4 Middle Schools2 High Schools

PLCAlternative School

All schools (except 1) are Title I schools

Barrow County Schools 2009Image by riccotorres on Flickr

. . . a story of how one school district is preparing to 

become a Charter System.

Image by horizontal integration on Flickr

Image by apdk on Flickr

The journey begins…

First things first…Get the Board on Board!

January 2008- July 2009

Take Your Time!

Educate BOE, Staff and Stakeholders on 3 Options

Educating the BOE, principals, and staff prior 

to the vote…Presentations from:Mark Whitlock, Dr. Thomas 

Van Solean, Dr. Pat Stokes,Staff

GSBA, GAEL and other conferences

Visits to Career Academies

Visit to City Schools of Decatur

Begin with the end in mind…

2011-2012

Transparency – Input - Reaching Out CRITICAL!

Image by assback on Flickr

“Leadership is about vision. But leadership

is equally about creating a climate

where the truth is heard and the brutal facts

confronted.”

Jim Collins in Good to Great

Transparency – Input - Reaching Out CRITICAL!

• Town Hall Meetings• Teacher Talks at Every School• Chamber of Commerce• Press Releases• Website• Wikispace• TOTY Advisory Council• Core Planning Team, Governance Team, Educational Programs Team, Assessment/Goals Team, Operations Team, Fiscal Team Meetings

Overcome Misconceptions About Charter Systems

• Budget cuts tied to charter system status

• Special Education requirements

• Fine Arts

• Class size

• Salary schedule

• Highly qualified

Process for each committee…

• Committee gathers data

• Committee develops recommendation

• Recommendation presented to core planning team for feedback

• Core planning team presents recommendation to BOE for feedback

• Recommendation shared with stakeholders

Governance ModelBoard of

Education

Superintendent Executive Governance

Team

AHS Cluster

GovernanceTeam

WBHS Cluster

GovernanceTeam

School Level Governance Teams

Educational Programs  “Innovation Team”

Next Steps…• Share drafts/ideas with DOE and Charter Advisory Council along the way

• Assessment/Goals Committee Meetings

• Operations Committee Meetings

• Fiscal Committee Meetings 

• Spring Public Hearings

• LBOE votes on petition

• Submit to SBOE November, 2010

Questions