State school group coming to aid of Macon Charter Academy

While it awaits the critique of an improvement plan submitted to district and state education officials, Macon Charter Academy has breathing room to work on its issues with the help of the Georgia Charter Schools Association.

In an Oct. 9 letter to MCA, Bibb school Superintendent Curtis Jones acknowledged that MCA’s leadership is “diligently working” to develop its improvement plan to address the school’s operational issues.

“With this understanding, the site visit scheduled for Tuesday, October 13, 2015 has been postponed,” he wrote. “The district will be in communication with you to reschedule for a later time.”

MCA was put on probation in late September following a Telegraph report that aired grievances by parents and employees during a charter school board meeting.

Among the complaints were issues with academics, discipline and disorganization of the school’s overall operations.

Lonnicia Maxwell, MCA’s board chairwoman, said MCA is a work in progress, and she is happy for the opportunity to collaborate with the charter school group.

The extent of the association’s help would include a visit to the school to interview all board members and school employees, as well as some parents, to provide MCA with corrective action recommendations, according to an Oct. 1 email from Tony Roberts, GCSA’s president and CEO, to Maxwell.

“I am grateful that Dr. Curtis Jones and the (Bibb County school district) has postponed the official visit to allow MCA’s governing board and leadership team time to work with GCSA,” Maxwell wrote in an email. “We have reached out to GCSA to discuss next steps and look forward to continuing our efforts to make MCA the success that our scholars deserve.”

Jones told the Telegraph that the district has given a “preliminary look” at the response MCA provided, adding that it appears to be “moving in the right direction.”

Now, he said, “the question becomes how well they implement and follow through with it and how does it relate to the other actions that the state department has asked them to provide.”

Both education agencies, the Bibb school district and the Georgia Department of Education, required varying responses last week from MCA explaining its issues as well as an action plan to correct the deficiencies.

In an email to Maxwell last week, Louis Ertse, the Department of Education’s associate superintendent over charter schools, said he’s glad MCA is working with the association on this “important initiative.” He added that both he and Jones would provide MCA with a “joint response” sometime this week.

“Once we review what they submitted, we will let them know why it is inadequate,” Ertse told the Telegraph in an email. “Assuming it’s salvageable and they work with GCSA, we will give them a chance to fix the plan.”

Another update of MCA’s progress is also expected at Thursday’s regularly scheduled Bibb County school board meeting.

“Overall, I think there is a seriousness on their part to respond and to be successful,” Jones said. “And we are continuing to be supportive and helpful for a positive outcome.”

To contact writer David Schick, call 744-4382 or find him on Twitter@davidcschick.

This story was originally published October 13, 2015 at 6:49 PM with the headline "State school group coming to aid of Macon Charter Academy ."