Category: Weekly Updates
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“Why would a school have a strategic plan?”
Last October, the ANCS governing board adopted a three-year strategic plan for our school. A committee comprised of board members, teachers/staff, and parents guided the development of the plan. This committee gathered feedback from a wide variety of people—students, parents, the full faculty/staff, external supporters—and crafted an updated mission statement as well as plan goals in…
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Will the Milestones be better than the CRCT? It depends on how they are used.
Heading into the long Labor Day weekend, the Georgia Department of Education released state level data from the new Georgia Milestones Assessments administered for the first time this past spring. As expected, the results showed a much lower level of student proficiency on reading and math as measured by these tests than on the former…
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“Why I teach” – guest post by Jennifer Dickie
For the past several years, we’ve taken time at our gatherings of our full K-8 faculty and staff to hear from a few teachers and staff members about why they teach and choose to work at ANCS. It’s a tradition borrowed from some other schools, one that serves to remind us of the passion we all…
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The complicated issues of charter schools, property taxes, school funding, and economic diversity
Last week Georgia State University’s Fiscal Research Center released a new study examining the impact of metro Atlanta charter schools’ priority attendance zones on property values within those zonesIn the spring, I’d provided information about ANCS to Assistant Professor Carlianne Patrick and her research team working on this study, so I was interested to see what…
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The problem with educational jargon
A couple of years ago, I joined the world of social media by creating Facebook and Twitter accounts for my role as Executive Director of ANCS with the thinking being that I could use these platforms to share about happenings at our school to a wider audience. I’ve certainly used these accounts for that purpose,…
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After 14 years of ANCS, where do we go from here?
This year marks the 14th of the Atlanta Neighborhood Charter School. We are the second oldest charter school in the city of Atlanta, and we are preparing to submit the application to renew our charter and take us up to entering our third decade of educating students in southeast Atlanta. The renewal process, by design,…
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Summer vacation from blog posting…but you can still follow me on Facebook and Twitter!
Did you happen to see our latest “Principles in Practice” newsletter with an ANCS year-in-review? If not, you can read it here. I’ll be taking a break from weekly blog posts this summer until school officially resumes in August, but I’ll remain active with posts on my Facebook page and Twitter account.
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What are the innovations that can most impact student learning?
This past weekend was the 20th anniversary celebration of the Francis Parker Charter Essential School in Devens, Massachusetts, a school founded by Ted and Nancy Sizer of the Coalition of Essential Schools and a school at which I once taught. I was invited to speak at a “Ted S.” Talks event that was a part of…
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So some teachers are now in jail. Will that be all our students will get out of the APS test cheating trial?
One of the worst chapters in the history of public education in our city is nearing a close with the recent conviction and sentencing of 8 educators involved with widespread cheating by adults of student answer documents on the CRCT in Atlanta several years ago. In the aftermath of the trial and its outcome, there has…
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A reminder: how to use standardized tests sensibly
It’s that time of year again—when student work is taken down or covered and teachers must sign countless forms attesting that they will follow proper procedures. Yes, it is standardized testing season. After spring break, students at ANCS and other public schools across Georgia will take the new Georgia Milestones tests (grades 3-8) or the…