Group Seeking Druid Hills Charter Cluster Meets Tuesday

A committee studying the possibility of a charter cluster that would include Druid Hills High School and its feeder schools will meet Tuesday.

In addition to the high school, the Druid Hills Charter Cluster would include Druid Hills Middle School and Avondale, Briar Vista, Fernbank, Laurel Ridge and McLendon elementary schools.

Why start a "charter cluster?" From the group's Facebook page:

The Druid Hills High School cluster of schools currently is exploring the potential benefits of petitioning to become a "charter cluster" of schools. Charter schools are public schools and receive all the funding that non-charter schools receive, but two words distinguish them from public schools as they exist today: autonomy and flexibility. A charter cluster of schools would be governed, not by the local board of education (in this instance, DeKalb), but by an independent Board of Directors. A charter cluster would have waivers, or flexibility, from certain state and local rules and regulations, in exchange for a higher level of accountability for increasing student achievement. Charter schools use this flexibility to implement innovative or unique programs or models in order to provide educational opportunities typically not available in public schools as they exist today.

The group is meeting at Laurel Ridge Elementary, 1215 Balsam Drive, at 6:30 p.m. The group will continue to meet on the first and third Tuesday of each month and rotate the meeting locations among the proposed cluster schools.

What do you think of this idea? Tell us in the comments section below.

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