At its November monthly meeting, Alabama Public Charter School Commission (APCSC) executive director Logan Searcy outlined how the state plans to use the federal grant announced last month.
The plan to expand school choice opportunities includes 23 grants over the next three years.
Of these, seven will be new charter schools, four will be replication charter schools, four will be expansion schools and eight will be conversion schools, staggered over the grant period.
According to the APCSC website, "A conversion charter school is one in which a traditional school system identifies one of its existing schools to be converted into a charter school that will operate with an independent school board but will remain a school within the system. Local school systems must register with the Alabama Department of Education to become authorizers of conversion and start-up charter schools."
A replication charter school is when an existing charter school/LEA "establishes another school that does not lie within the school's existing campus footprint or approved school area and that replicates one or more of the following: the mission, vision, grade level configuration, academic program, and instructional modal of the existing charter school."
There are two types of expansion schools as described by the APCSC. In one, an existing charter school or LEA establishes another school that is not located within the school's current campus footprint or approved school area and does not replicate one or more of the following: vision, mission, grade-level configuration, academic program, and instructional model. The second type involves an existing charter school expanding its program beyond the grade-level configuration specified in its charter contract. This expansion occurs within the school's current campus or within the approved school area.
The board also voted to revise the organization's bylaws to empower the executive director in several ways, including the ability to hire and fire new staff, apply for grants, and hire/fire personnel for those grants.
Meeting minutes for commission meetings are available on their website, and videos are available on their YouTube page.
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