Dunwoody Charter Cluster Letter of Intent

Dunwoody Charter Cluster

A group led by Pam Tallmadge and Jim Redovian is exploring the Charter Cluster model as a possible local control option for Dunwoody area public schools.  The first step of the exploration is a non-binding Letter of Intent to be filed with the State and County Boards of Education.

The Letter of Intent proclaims that the community will consider, research, and petition for Charter School Cluster status during the next year. To that end, working committees will form to address all the considerations of a locally controlled cluster. The Letter of Intent is not specific to the structure and goals of a charter cluster, merely a proclamation that the community wishes to consider this avenue.

Here’s the Letter of Intent:

Dunwoody High School

5035 Vermack Road

Dunwoody, Georgia 30338

—and its feeder schools—

Peachtree Charter Middle School▪Austin Elementary▪ Chesnut Charter Elementary ▪Dunwoody Elementary ▪ Hightower Elementary▪Kingsley Charter Elementary ▪VanderlynElementary

Georgia Department of Education                          DeKalb County Board of Education

Charter Schools Division                                             Office of Charter Schools

2053 Twin Towers East                                                Administrative and Instructional Complex

205 Jesse Hill Jr. Drive SE                                           1701 Mountain Industrial Boulevard

Atlanta, Georgia  30334                                                Stone Mountain, Georgia 30083

Re:       Letter of Intent to Submit Petition for High School Cluster Charter

Dear Colleagues:

In accordance with Georgia State Board of Education Rule 160-4-9-.04, please accept this letter of intent to submit a Petition for the Dunwoody High School Charter Cluster, within the DeKalb County School District.

It will be the mission of the proposed Dunwoody High School Charter Cluster to work with all stakeholders to provide a variety of educational opportunities and challenges in a safe learning environment that will allow all students to acquire the critical thinking skills, knowledge, and values found at their highest potential, and to become self-assured, responsible citizens of our ever-changing global society.

The schools within the DHSCC would serve students in pre-K through the twelfth (12^th) grades.  Each of the constituent elementary schools — Austin Elementary,Chesnut Charter Elementary, Dunwoody Elementary,Hightower Elementary, Kingsley Charter Elementary and Vanderlyn Elementary — would serve pre-K through fifth (5^th) grades; Peachtree Charter Middle School would serve the cluster’s sixth (6^th) through eighth (8^th) grades; and Dunwoody High School would serve the cluster’s ninth (9^th) through twelfth (12^th) grades.

The proposed opening date for the Dunwoody High School Charter Cluster would be on or about August 1, 2014.  The opening date would coincide with the beginning of the 2014-2015 school year.

We look forward to working with you as we explore the benefits that a conversion charter cluster would bring to the students and stakeholders in the Dunwoody High School Cluster.  We will be working diligently to develop and complete our Petition in the time prescribed by DCSD.  In the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

(List of School Council and Charter Council chairs as signers)