Panel OKs charter school draft

ALBANY — The executive steering committee of the Albany College and Career Academy (ACCA) unanimously approved a draft startup charter petition on Tuesday and voted to move it forward to the Dougherty County School Board for review.

The 67-page charter will be presented to the board during an informational meeting at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the school administration building. It is anticipated the board will vote on the proposed charter during its June 27 meeting.

“This is truly a sea change moment for this community,” said Executive Steering Committee Chair Bobby McKinney. “This new charter is unlike any other in the state and we look forward to working with the Board of Education on it.”

Consultant Russ Moore of Seamless Education Associates said the ACCA charter is unique in two major respects.

“Never before has a charter been written in a Georgia county with these particular demographics — a very high number of economically disadvantaged students and such a high African-American enrollment,” said Moore. “Secondly, the blending of academics and CTAE (Career, Technology and Agricultural Education) courses, which we call ’embedding,’ has never been done before.

“This is a unique opportunity for Dougherty County.”

If approved by the board and the state, the new charter school would begin operating in August 2013.

ACCA would be run by an autonomous policymaking board, called directors, and a chief executive office, who would be appointed by and answerable to those directors.

In the application, which took nearly 200 volunteers almost a year to put together, the steering committee, the charter states, wanted to “produce a concept that is bold, innovative and a clear sign that Dougherty County is determined to face its challenges head on, to persevere and to overcome all obstacles.”

The charter calls for repurposing Albany High School over a five-year period into the ACCA’s permanent home, beginning in August of the 2013-14 school year.