Macon Charter leaders prepare to start school year

Macon Charter Academy’s leaders are gearing up to start the school’s second year of operation.

At the regular meeting of MCA’s governing board Tuesday, head of school Georgia Ellis Gary said she was excited to see the school open on Aug. 1 with the rest of Bibb County’s schools.

“Our doors are going to be opened, and we are going to have school,” Gary said.

The school is facing a termination hearing with the state school board Aug. 18, but Assistant Principal Chante Roberts said training already is underway for new and old teachers. She also said all teaching positions have been filled.

“Basically, we went over some procedures and curriculum issues, and we also asked the teachers to let us know the things that they needed,” she said.

Teachers will undergo professional development next week, which will include training in safety procedures, teaching strategies and other classroom management operations. Teachers new to the field also will be paired with older educators as mentors to help promote retention of faculty.

“We want to assure that they feel comfortable this year,” Gary said.

That development is expected to extend to students, founder and board Chairwoman Monya Rutland said. She said the school would continue to operate with “children in mind” as part of a mission and vision statement recently adopted by the board.

“Our mission is to create a child-centered educational environment,” Rutland said.

Rutland was joined by board members Daisy Ross and Norman Brown at the meeting, with Stephanie Parker and Renay Bloom absent. Rutland, Ross and Brown voted unanimously to adopt the Bibb County district academic calendar, subject to amendments to allow for “civic education” on holidays and half days within the Bibb calendar.

She said activities like cleaning up the Linwood Cemetery would allow students to learn local culture while also providing community service.

“Some of that time, I think we can use for community engagement and community-based learning opportunities,” Ross said of some breaks and holidays on the district calendar.

Board members noted that it would be difficult to get the service days added before school started but wanted to provide school leadership and parents time to look over the proposal.

The board also heard a report on Macon Charter’s summer program, which included opportunities for enrichment as well as remediation. Roberts said more than half of the students enrolled showed improvement in math and language arts when tested on the appropriate standards.

“It was a great program,” Roberts said.

The school will hold a family festival 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday followed by a movie night July 30 before an open house July 31.

The board is also planning to have a called meeting 6 p.m. July 28.

This story was originally published July 19, 2016 at 8:09 PM with the headline "Macon Charter leaders prepare to start school year."