Students across Georgia have been returning to school over the past week, a trend that now has summer ending when the season officially has barely reached its midpoint. Administrators have upended the traditional calendar, but many of them already have their eyes set squarely on the fall of 2016.

Next year, voters will go to the polls to determine if Georgia’s constitution should be changed to allow the state to take over chronically failing schools. Districts with schools on the list of those that would potentially be eligible are scrambling to address and correct problems that have allowed some of their schools to underperform year after year. This directly demonstrates the effectiveness of Georgia’s Opportunity School District more than a year before voters have the chance to approve it.

Last Friday afternoon the Atlanta Public School system released a lengthy statement regarding the potential of having the state take over some schools. Titled “An ‘Opportunity’ That We Own”, the memo said in part:

“When one looks at the number of APS schools on the potential OSD list, it is clear APS does not have a day to waste. There are currently 26 APS schools that meet the current criteria, and there are a number of other schools at-risk of eligibility, either because they have one or two years of CCRPI performance below 60 and/or they have historical CCRPI performance close to 60.

“Given this context, the Board and Dr. Carstarphen agree that APS must undertake an aggressive, targeted strategy to improve schools that have been identified eligible or at-risk for state takeover by the proposed OSD…”

In Savannah, a similar program is being launched for failing Chatham County schools. A July 11th report in the Savannah Morning News notes that Chatham’s five schools that appear on the potential takeover list are receiving beefed up instructional programs, additional teacher training, and providing students with small group remediation. The article notes the system hopes that by the time voters go to the polls in November of 2016 they have shown “there is no need for a constitutional amendment.”

And yet, one could look at the sudden sense of urgency being displayed by these systems and others that face the potential of state intervention in their systems and conclude exactly the opposite. The Opportunity School District is about focusing resources and measuring outcomes from chronically failing schools.

The state and federal government have given local districts many tools for their toolbox to implement solutions at the local level. Flexibility from state mandates has been available under IE2 or Charter System programs. Additional money for underperforming schools has been made available in the form of School Improvement Grants and Race To The Top funds.

But the status quo thus far has largely remained. Systems look to the state and say “more” money is needed, but when accountability is demanded they shroud themselves in the cloak of the “local control” argument.

Atlanta Public Schools went directly along this script in their statement, saying
“maintaining local control of education is critical to our democracy.” That’s a nice statement designed to appeal to their voters in preparing to defend against the potential for state intervention, but where was the stated sense of urgency before the Opportunity School District legislation passed?

State officials from the Governor down have insisted that takeover is only one option available under the Opportunity School District and is the least desirable for all involved. Working with local districts, as well as parents and community stakeholders to turn around schools is the preferred course of action.

Until now, local systems could continue to apply a one size fits all approach and hide behind bureaucratic excuses for failure. Now, with the direct threat of someone else fixing the problem, districts across the state are getting serious about finding solutions that work down to the school and even the student level.

The schools that are hoping success will show that the constitutional amendment isn’t needed should be encouraged to show results. Their new sense of urgency, however, proves not only that the Opportunity School District is needed but is also already working.

Charlie Harper, author and editor of the Peach Pundit blog, writes on Georgia politics and government; www.peachpundit.com