Macon Charter leaders cite improvements, make plans for future

Macon Charter Academy, which held its regularly governing board meeting Tuesday, is preparing to move forward for the 2016-17 school year.

As part of the meeting, various school leaders gave reports as part of a school improvement plan, which included aspirations for a pre-K associated with the school, an Accelerated Reader program and increased parental involvement.

"We are asking these parents to give us six hours per month of volunteer time," said principal Georgia Ellis Gary.

One parent, who asked not to be named, said she agreed with the added volunteer time and encouraged others to rally behind the school.

"We have to stay positive to push MCA," she said. "MCA is here to stay."

The Georgia Department of Education had begun the process of terminating the school's charter, but official action was delayed at a recent state school board meeting after the school filed for Chapter 11 reorganization in bankruptcy court.

The action was pulled from the state agenda out of caution due to the timing of the filing. Attorney Joel Callins said that the bankruptcy process will not prevent the school from opening, though.

"You are allowed the opportunity to continue operating," he said.

He was also hopeful that the bankruptcy process would help the school in the long run if it stays open.

"Our hope is that we come out of bankruptcy, maybe a slightly different Macon Charter Academy but a better organized Macon Charter Academy," Callins said.

The bankruptcy filing has a court date of June 3.

The termination proceedings began after concerns arose following a visit to the school by state officials in March. That visit reflected behavioral issues and other operational problems at the school.

Jewel Faison, an educational consultant from Albany, said her visits to the school more recently have provided a different perspective.

"I was very pleased to see the difference between March 15 and now," she said.

The school's behavior specialist, Brenda Jones, also said she's seen changes since Gary was appointed in April.

Jones said she regularly had 30-40 students sent to in-school suspension at one time, but that number has been reduced to 10 or 12.

"Those things have drastically changed," she said.

She added that a lot of the school's early behavioral troubles could be attributed to the extenuating circumstances of starting at the Macon Coliseum and then shifting to the permanent location on Madison Street.

"In my opinion, I don't feel like we were given the chance to get that acclimation done," Jones said.

The governing board, down to four members prior to Tuesday's meeting—Chairman Ed Grant, Daisy Ross, Thomas Duval and Linda Smyth—added attorney Renay Bloom to their ranks. Bloom was not in attendance but listened to the meeting through a cell phone connection.

Duval was named vice chairman, Ross was named treasurer and Smyth was named secretary. Former vice chairman Joseph Brothers and board members John Carey and Wade Scott have resigned from the board.

The next meetings of the state school board are scheduled for June 8 and 9. Unless an additional meeting is called, that would be the next chance for a vote on the termination process for MCA's charter.

This story was originally published May 17, 2016 at 9:12 PM with the headline "Macon Charter leaders cite improvements, make plans for future."