The State Board of Education approved the charter system renewal and contract for Atlanta Public Schools (APS) at its meeting on July 22. The district’s charter term begins July 1, 2021, and ends June 30, 2026.

New and innovative features added to the district’s charter system operating model include the build-out and work of the district’s new Center for Equity and Social Justice and the implementation of accountability reviews to build a culture of data-driven instruction supported by meaningful and relevant learning and supports.

In addition, through its charter system operating model, APS will address challenges that include:

• Building an academic program that improves the quality of instructional delivery and responds to students’ diverse needs while preparing them for college, career, and life;

• Developing tools and processes for diagnosis, progress monitoring, and intervention for all students;

• Fostering a culture of equity and learning that builds staff capacity and community understanding; and

• Implementing processes that support the academic vision for the organization.

As a charter system, APS operates under a five-year, performance-based contract between the local board and the state board of education. The charter system operating model allows APS to exercise greater flexibility in serving students, greater community and parent involvement with decision-making, greater flexibility in using state and local resources, innovative solutions for meeting the diverse needs of APS students, and greater accountability by the school system to the community.

A key element of the charter system operating model is to move decision-making closer to where learning takes place. That means leaving decisions to the school system and the schools within the system. It also means involving more people in the decision-making process. Local school governance teams (GO Teams) in each school is the method APS uses to involve parents, teachers, and the community in decision-making that maximizes educational opportunities for students.

The State Board of Education first approved APS as a charter system on September 25, 2015. For more information about the district’s charter system operating model, visitwww.apsstrongschools.com.