Gifted and ESOL Endorsement On-Line Courses Now Available!

Increase your QBE Revenue by serving more students who qualify for gifted and ESOL services!  GCSA now offers a fully on-line Gifted and ESOL Endorsement Program through North Georgia College and State University.  Individuals enrolled in the program are eligible to apply for provisional certification immediately.
The first cohort begins on September 20, so register NOW!  [...]

Federal Policy Templates Now Available!

GCSA, in partnership with The National Charter School Institute, has developed CharterPolicy.  This program will provide policy templates to new and existing schools to ensure each school has a comprehensive policy manual.  Currently available are Federal Policy Templates (for LEAs and non-LEAs).  Templates related to Finance, Human Resources, and Boards will be rolled out in the coming months.  [...]

GCSA Launches 2010-2011 Professional Development Program

GCSA is launching a large training initiative to support professional development of boards, leaders, teachers, and office managers.  A variety of courses and programs will be offered via individual school and group workshops, recorded and live webinars, and web-based platforms.
Check out the 2010-2011 Course Catalog for detailed information on the course and program descriptions, dates, [...]

Teacher and Leader Compliance, Certification, & Professional Development Webinar

GCSA, with support from The Professional Standards Commission, will provide the latest updates on federal and state mandates, guidelines, policies, and procedures pertaining to Title IIA/Highly Qualified Status for charter school teachers and certification requirements for teachers and leaders, and opportunities for professional development to support these mandates will be discussed. 
 The most suitable audience for [...]

Charter Schools Performing Well in Georgia

Charter schools in Georgia are performing extremely well in comparison to traditional public schools, according to an analysis of 2010 Annual Yearly Progress (AYP), Criterion Referenced Competency Test (CRCT) and Georgia High School Graduation Test (GHSGT) data by the Georgia Charter Schools Association (GCSA).

FREE Webinars for Individuals Interested in Opening a Charter School

GCSA offers 2 FREE webinars for individuals who are interested in opening a charter school:  “Getting Started” and “Building Blocks.”  The purpose of these FREEinteractive webinars is to set expectations for new founders about the requirements for opening a high quality charter school in Georgia.  The webinars are recorded and available on-demand on GCSA’s training website [...]

GCSA Offers FREE Webinars on Starting Quality Charter Schools

The Georgia Charter Schools Association (GCSA) has launched a new training platform featuring webinars designed to help individuals and groups interested in starting quality charter schools in Georgia.

“Getting Started Opening a High Quality Charter School” is a 35-minute webinar covering the basics of starting a charter school. The second webinar, “Building Blocks of a Quality Charter School,” is about 25 minutes, and delves a bit deeper into the requirements of developing a high quality school and addresses “accountability,” “business,” and “capacity.”

Eighth Graders in Charter Schools Outperform Peers in Traditional Public Schools on 2010 CRCT

Eighth grade students attending charter schools throughout Georgia performed better on the 2010 Criterion Referenced Competency Test than students in traditional public schools, according to an analysis conducted by the Georgia Charter Schools Association. The GCSA analysis indicates also that the difference in student performance is more pronounced in the Atlanta and DeKalb County School Systems, and students in independent charter schools posted impressive scores across the board.

Join the Georgia Parent Advocacy Network (G-PAN) Today!

JOIN G-PAN! GCSA urges schools to share the email addresses of parents and households enrolled in your school to help expand the Georgia Parent Advocacy Network (G-PAN). Read more to learn how to join G-PAN and how to register others as well.

Constitutional Challenges to HB881 Reaches GA Supreme Court

The Georgia Supreme Court has established deadlines for the filing of briefs in the HB881 appeal.

Eight school districts are suing to have HB881 — the law that led to the creation of the Georgia Charter Schools Commission — ruled unconstitutional. They must file their brief on or before August 5. The defendants in the case — which include the Commission, the State Board of Education and two charter schools — must file on or before August 25.

Oral arguments will more than likely occur in November or December 2010, with a final opinion rendered by March 2011.