State Grants Approval To School District's Flexibility Plan

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The Cherokee County School District on Thursday won approval from the State Board of Education for its application and contract for the state-required flexibility-based education reform model.

The Cherokee school board last week unanimously approved the proposed application and contract prior to submission to the State Board, which approved the request at its Aug. 20 meeting.

The school district has chosen the Strategic Waivers School System model, formerly known as IE2, “which addresses CCSD-identified challenges and provides flexibility through waivers from mutually-determined State (Title 20) Statutes and State Board Rules in order to increase student achievement,” the system said in a press release.

The contract is for an initial term of five years of individual school performance accountability (using College and Career Ready Performance Index scores) and provides the district with seven years of contracted flexibility through waivers.

Deputy Superintendent Dr. Brian Hightower said he and his staff have heard only positive response to the plan from administrators, teachers and parents since the district and the school board began its model review and selection process more than two years ago.

The application includes a long list of waivers that the Cherokee County School District may opt to use as it pursues new initiatives; but it’s not obligated to use them all.

“The contract is built on two facts: flexibility and accountability,” Dr. Hightower said. “We’re up for the challenge and the opportunity.”

Cherokee Superintendent of Schools Dr. Frank Petruzielo said the proposal builds upon the district’s strong foundation of its accountability policy and supporting strategic and improvement plans, and is designed to allow for greater flexibility at the school, zone and district level.

The next step in the process will be to review initial Georgia Milestones benchmark data when it’s released this fall to determine how waivers may be used to implement new initiatives to improve academic achievement, the system said.

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