1. School Autonomy
Guidebook
2013-2014
FINAL VERSION
September 2013

2. BOARD OF EDUCATION
Linda Schultz, President
Linda McCain, Vice President
Julia C. Bernath • Linda P. Bryant • Gail Dean
Catherine Maddox • Katie Reeves
Robert M. Avossa, Ed.D., Superintendent
September 2013
Dear Fulton Parents, Staff, and Community,
As Georgia’s largest Charter System, Fulton County Schools is on an exciting
journey to create learning environments where student achievement increases
and innovation thrives. This is our opportunity to re-imagine education in new
and forward-thinking ways.
The path to developing truly innovative and effective schools relies on one thing
– increasing local school autonomy. We fully believe in a system where schools
take more ownership of decision-making and assume appropriate levels of
accountability for results.
School communities will play an instrumental role as we align our work with
individual school needs. You have an incredible opportunity to become the
architect of your school’s success. However, we first need to think differently
about everything – how we operate, how we engage with our communities,
and how we make decisions.
The Charter System model is a new framework for school support. It’s one where
local school leaders, School Governance Councils, and central office
departments will work together to positively impact student achievement. It is a
change from “business as usual.” That’s why it’s important to begin by clarifying
expectations and establishing strong guidance with clear direction.
This School Autonomy Guidebook is a tool we’ll use to meet the ambitious goals
and commitments of the district’s Strategic Plan 2017: Building Our Future. The
guidebook will be updated annually to provide clarity, reflect new ideas, and
address continuing opportunities that arise throughout the Charter System’s
evolving implementation.
Thank you for joining us on this journey and for your continued support.
Robert M. Avossa, Ed.D.
Superintendent

3. Table of Contents
Introduction – The Path to Innovative Schools ................................................. 4
1. Why Is Local School Autonomy Important? ................................................. 5
2. How Will the Parameters of Autonomy Be Determined? ............................ 6
Part I. Fulton Guiding Principles – Holding “Tight” ............................................... 7
Part II. Fulton Guiding Principles – Letting “Loose”.............................................. 8
Part III. Illustrative Examples of Guiding Principles in Practice........................... 9
3. How Will Schools Determine Which Flexibilities they Should Pursue?...... 17
Part I. School Strategic Plans (SSPs)..................................................................... 17
Part II. Earned Requests for Flexibility (RFFs) ....................................................... 18
Part III. Requests for Flexibility Timeline ................................................................ 18
Part IV. Initiating Change within the Charter System ....................................... 19
Conclusion ........................................................................................................ 20
School Autonomy Guidebook 2013-2014 |Page 3 of 20

4. Introduction – The Path to Innovative Schools
Fulton County Schools’ mission is to educate every student to be a responsible, productive
citizen. As Georgia’s largest Charter System 1 the district now has an unprecedented level of
freedom and flexibility to meet the diverse needs of students across the district, educate
children to meet their full potential, and direct continued operational improvements and
efficiency system-wide.
This flexibility also includes a deliberate shift in the district’s approach to decision-making
authority, encouraging more autonomy at the local school level where student needs are
best met. Each of these elements, working in concert, will ensure every Fulton student
graduates from high school on time and is supremely prepared for college and career.
The aim of this document is to present a purposeful path to innovative schools across the
district. We must think differently about how the district operates in order to achieve the
bold vision outlined in Fulton’s Charter System contract and five-year Strategic Plan 2017:
Building Our Future. In order to successfully achieve these goals, principals, School
Governance Councils, district department leaders and staff require clear, specific guidance
that:
1. Clarifies the parameters of local school autonomy for school principals and School
Governance Councils, as well as central office departments and leaders that support
schools;
2. Demonstrates how the district will be consistent in the treatment of new ideas and
proposed innovations; and
3. Publicizes and standardizes currently available areas of flexibility.
The following pages describe Fulton’s path to innovative schools in three steps as highlighted
in Figure 1.
Figure 1 – Path to Innovative Schools
1
As of August 12, 2013.
School Autonomy Guidebook 2013-2014 |Page 4 of 20

5. 1. Why Is Local School Autonomy Important?
The district’s five-year strategic plan prescribes a Fulton County Schools system that is more
agile and responsive to the needs of each student and school. Significant challenges exist
today that make the road to achieve this vision difficult, including:

The graduation rate across Fulton is too low;

Budget cuts have become the new normal; and

Our schools are being asked to do more (Common Core/Georgia Performance
Standards) with limited budgets.
We believe that increased local school decision-making promotes and supports the creation
of new ideas and energies that can offset these challenges. There is untapped innovation
and excellence in our schools and communities that can be released with shared
governance and flexible systems. Increasing the level of autonomy at the local school level
is important for three specific reasons.
REASON #1: Recognizes Fulton’s Diversity. Increasing local school decision-making autonomy
is a key lever in district reforms to improve student achievement because it:

Recognizes Fulton’s Diversity: The district is made up of 95,000 students and 100
schools with vast socioeconomic, preparation, language, and interest diversity;

Shifts Decisions Closer to Kids: Decentralizing authority empowers community
engagement; and

Supports the FCS Learning Community Model: School communities are best
positioned to develop unique solutions for their students.
REASON #2: Integral to our Charter System Contract. Fulton County Schools’ five-year
Charter System contract with the Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE) reflects the
expressed desires of our community to strengthen local community involvement and
encourage more local decision-making.
REASON #3: Provides Increased Flexibility for Principals. Shifting the locus of decision-making
greatly empowers district principals and School Governance Councils to make decisions that
align with their level of responsibility and accountability for meeting the diverse needs of all
of their students.
School Autonomy Guidebook 2013-2014 |Page 5 of 20

6. 2. How Will the Parameters of Autonomy Be Determined?
While many decisions are best made at the local level, there are other decisions that best
remain with the Board of Education and Superintendent as foundations of the district’s
governance and management structure. This belief is consistent with the idea that, as a
Charter System, Fulton is not a collection of individual charter schools but a system of schools
working together, where the Board of Education and Superintendent have ultimate
accountability and responsibility for student achievement outcomes.
Fulton County Schools’ local school autonomy philosophy is grounded by seven guiding
principles that reflect the district’s Charter System governance framework. The district has
developed these guiding principles to address ideas and proposed innovations by local
schools and central office departments through a consistent lens as they are generated.
There are already numerous areas in which schools enjoy the autonomy and flexibility to
make local decisions, including determining local staffing; using dedicated funds to staff
additional positions, equipment, or resources; the inclusion of more discretionary allocated
funds as a percentage of the overall school budget; flexibility in how to manage custodial
services; and others. This framework also seeks to highlight these areas so they are
consistently applied across all district schools.
Before we discuss the guiding principles in more detail, let’s consider some basic definitions.
Holding a service “tight” means that the district would determine how a service
is provided and the intention is for it to be provided in the same way across
schools.
Letting something “loose“ means that the school can determine how a service is
provided and hence substantial variation is expected across Fulton County
Schools.
It is the guiding principles that will determine the appropriate place and level for decisions.
We have used the following theoretical examples to help illustrate how these guiding
principles will be applied.
School Autonomy Guidebook 2013-2014 |Page 6 of 20

7. Part I. Fulton Guiding Principles – Holding “Tight”
Table 1 explains four (4) guiding principles for the relatively few areas where the district has
determined decisions would be best made at the central office or system level.
Table 1 – “Tight” Guiding Principles
It is important that some aspects of district operations be as consistent as possible for some
key reasons, including:
1. Minimizing district and personal legal and financial risk,
2. Protecting student safety,
3. Preserving equity and federal compliance standards.
Additionally, maintaining tighter oversight of the specific areas listed in Table 1 at the district
level should minimize non-value add work and additional management responsibilities for
principals and reduce potential distractions.
Central office departments and staff are committed to continuously improving district
processes to ensure system-wide supports meet and exceed local school needs. This should
School Autonomy Guidebook 2013-2014 |Page 7 of 20

8. free up our principals and School Governance Councils to consider a spectrum of ideas that
can lead to sustained improvements within their school classrooms and communities.
Part II. Fulton Guiding Principles – Letting “Loose”
Table 2 presents three (3) guiding principles the district will use to determine whether
proposed ideas and innovations in these areas would be open to consideration for local
schools to pursue. Ideas would then be judged by their merit and cohesiveness of the
approach to solving a particular opportunity area for improvement within the school.
Table 2 – “Loose” Guiding Principles
Shifting many aspects of decision-making authority away from central management to local
schools represents a dramatic change in philosophy as Fulton County Schools embarks upon
a fundamentally new framework of school support. The district envisions that, over time,
boundless opportunities for innovations will organically develop through the increased
community engagement that School Governance Councils will generate. Evaluating these
ideas through these seven (7) guiding principles in Table 1 and Table 2 will ensure a
consistent approach and drive increased flexibility and creativity from local schools and their
supporting central office departments.
School Autonomy Guidebook 2013-2014 |Page 8 of 20

9. Part III. Illustrative Examples of Guiding Principles in Practice
District staff has spent considerable time this year with principals and system leaders to
gauge specific ideas for thinking differently about how Fulton County Schools operates.
The following should not be considered an exhaustive list of what is possible through
increased local school autonomy and the potential of the district’s Charter System
designation. These real concepts, arranged by strategic plan focus areas, were selected to
illustrate and clarify how the district will approach similar ideas as we advance local school
autonomy across the district. In some cases, a ‘tight’ example was included to underscore
the difference between what we describe as ‘tight’ or ‘loose.’ It may be noteworthy to
consider the level of flexibility already currently available to local schools. Proposals beyond
areas of existing flexibilities may require a specific Request for Flexibility (RFF), which is defined
in more detail in Section 3 of this document beginning on page 17.
Each fall, the district plans to release additional guidance to clarify questions and issues that
surfaced throughout the prior school year, so the outcomes and approach are standardized
and transparent.
Instruction
Seat time and Class size
Developing New Courses
Selecting Instructional Resources
Adjustments to School Day, Times, or
Schedules
Additional Graduation Requirements
People
Technology
Selecting Technology Tools to Aid Instruction
Effective Schools
Transportation Scheduling and Supplemental
Services
Selection of Custodial and other Support
Services
Developing Staffing and Hiring Priorities
Resources
Setting Budget Priorities
School-Based Fundraising and Use of
Funds
School Autonomy Guidebook 2013-2014 |Page 9 of 20

10. Focus Area: Instruction
General
Idea
Seat Time/Class
Size
Desired Flexibilities or
Innovations
Creating ‘seminar-style’
courses at HS level
Tight
or
Loose
Loose
Currently
Available or
Requires RFF
Requires an RFF
Guiding
Principle
Key Innovation
Increasing PE class size
Description
Schools could consider quarter-long or other varying length courses, especially for
electives. To prepare students for college rigor, courses could be designed as
seminar courses and add additional flexibility to school master schedules.
Potential
Implications
What affect would additional courses have on the school’s master schedule?
Schools would need to work with Learning & Teaching to ensure that new courses
are aligned to existing FCS standards, and partner with Assessment & Evaluation to
develop student learning objectives (SLO’s) for the course. There may also be
staffing considerations for PE that need to be addressed with Talent.
Developing New
Courses
Creating additional electives
or variations to core subjects
Loose
Currently Available
Central to School
Strategy
Key Innovation
Description
Schools could propose additions to their local school catalog of courses based on
student demand.
Potential
Implications
Schools would need to work with Learning & Teaching and Assessment & Evaluation
to develop SLO’s for any new courses. Professional Learning & Development would
need a strong preparation program in place for non-traditional teachers and an
ability to plan ahead with Talent to source talent with subject matter content
mastery.
Selecting
Instructional
Resources
Deciding what resources to
use for subjects without
textbooks
Loose
Currently Available
Key Innovation
Selecting adopted textbooks
Determining use of traditional
or digital resources
Description
Schools may consider the most effective instructional resources for particular
courses, select from an approved list of adopted textbooks, or determine whether
digital media or traditional textbooks best present instructional material for students.
Potential
Implications
Schools would have to work with Learning & Teaching to ensure chosen resources
support Board-approved curriculum and meet applicable standards. The type of
resource selected could affect the local school’s ability to take advantage of other
district-wide initiatives, given the system’s established strategic direction toward
digital tools and resources.
School Autonomy Guidebook 2013-2014 |Page 10 of 20

11. Focus Area: Instruction (continued)
General
Idea
Adjustments to
School Day, Times,
or Schedules
Desired Flexibilities or
Innovations
Extended school day for
specific, targeted programs or
students
Tight
or
Loose
Loose
Currently
Available or
Requires RFF
Currently Available
Guiding
Principle
Central to School
Strategy
Key Innovation
Extended school year
Saturday school
Description
Schools could choose to extend their school day to provide targeted programs for
students, hold Saturday classes to increase instructional time, or develop master
schedule variations to create more time for supplemental student supports or
counseling services.
Potential
Implications
Transportation Services operates a multi-tier system to ensure efficiency in base
morning and afternoon services. Schools may consider repurposing existing
extended day services. Schools will need to consider costs associated with
expanding the base transportation system as well as how the school would deliver
all other building support services necessary to operate the building. District
Transportation and Facilities Services teams would provide cost estimates for
requested services to schools to support well-informed budgeting decisions that
balance operational feasibility and costs and instructional outcomes.
Additional
Graduation
Requirements
Students better prepared for
college, career, and to be
world citizens through
additional required
experiences in high school
Description
Based on community and student demand, schools could set additional
graduation requirements beyond current requirements. This could include
community service requirements, a prescribed number of completed online
courses, or other potential academic or enrichment-type activities for students.
Potential
Implications
Schools would have to consider and mitigate impacts to higher mobility students
and how the additional requirements could affect these students. How would the
school provide equitable access for all students to meet these requirements?
Loose
Currently Available
Central to School
Strategy
School Autonomy Guidebook 2013-2014 |Page 11 of 20

12. Focus Area: Instruction (continued)
Tight
or
Loose
Currently
Available or
Requires RFF
General
Idea
Desired Flexibilities or
Innovations
Description
Continuous Achievement is the district’s instructional philosophy to ensure students
are challenged according to their ability and learning level. Individual schools
cannot deviate substantially from this key district strategy.
Potential
Implications
Implementing additional programs (e.g. International Baccalaureate, Cambridge,
College Board) would require a thorough review by the Board of Education and
Superintendent to ensure aspects of the program do not fall outside the district’s
broad Continuous Achievement philosophy.
Individual School
Balanced
Assessments
Determine own standards for
student mastery
Description
While schools may want to develop their own assessments or determine how
students can demonstrate standards mastery, this would lead to significant
inconsistencies across the district.
Potential
Implications
The district’s balanced assessment program must be followed so a consistent
measure of student performance is possible. Local school staff may not have
expertise in writing or evaluating assessments for their effectiveness.
Continuous
Achievement
“Opt-out” of continuous
achievement philosophy
Tight
Tight
N/A
N/A
Guiding
Principle
Key District
Strategy
Expertise
Examples for illustration purposes only
School Autonomy Guidebook 2013-2014 |Page 12 of 20

13. Focus Area: People
Tight
or
Loose
Currently
Available or
Requires RFF
General
Idea
Desired Flexibilities or
Innovations
Description
Schools may prioritize specific experiences, credentials, or certifications in the hiring
of staff in accordance with consistent district policies. For example, a school may
consider Talented and Gifted (TAG) credentials as a key criterion during teacher
and staff interviews, with the goal of increasing the overall level of instruction in all
classrooms, to meet an identified local school need.
Potential
Implications
Schools would have to consider with Talent the impact of such preferences on
existing employees. How would local school funds be determined and directed to
train staff currently without the prioritized ‘credential’? Is Academics in agreement
with the local school that the preference is likely to improve student achievement?
Compensation
Reforms
Schools use new budget
flexibilities to build
differentiated compensation
plans for teachers or staff
Description
Inconsistent compensation levels at the local school level destabilize the district’s
management of its talent and human capital. The district’s compensation reform
initiative will design new structures that effectively compensate employees fairly
and incent high performance across all districts.
Potential
Implications
Bidding for talent between schools can create significant legal risk for the district,
has severe implications for employee morale, and impacts the sustainability of the
local school staffing budget.
Developing Staffing
and Hiring Priorities
Staff positions are utilized to
meet local school and student
needs
Loose
Tight
Currently Available
N/A
Guiding
Principle
Central to
School Strategy
Key District
Strategy
Examples for illustration purposes only
School Autonomy Guidebook 2013-2014 |Page 13 of 20

14. Focus Area: Technology
General
Idea
Selecting
Technology Tools
to Aid Instruction
Desired Flexibilities or
Innovations
Variations of BYOD programs
or Student Tablets
Tight or
Loose
Loose
Currently
Available or
Requires RFF
Currently Available
Guiding
Principle
Central to
School Strategy
Key Innovation
Description
Effective use of technology tools can aid schools in personalizing their instructional
programs to meet individual student needs. This is a key district strategy, however,
flexibility parameters or approved device lists may be developed that support sound
district technology infrastructure management and drive cost efficiencies.
Potential
Implications
Schools would need to consider the funding sustainability of the selected tools with
Finance & Budget, gain agreement with Learning & Teaching and Instructional
Technology that the tool supports the district’s instructional philosophy, and partner
with Information Technology to work through network capacity and maintenance
requirements.
Examples for illustration purposes only
School Autonomy Guidebook 2013-2014 |Page 14 of 20

15. Focus Area: Effective Schools
Tight
or
Loose
Currently
Available or
Requires RFF
General
Idea
Desired Flexibilities or
Innovations
Description
Schools could determine levels of spending and approaches to custodial
services, school resource deployments, and other building-specific services as
these items are local options. The district would provide guidance and processes
to limit management time for instructional leaders where appropriate.
Potential
Implications
Legal issues would be mitigated through a close relationship with Contracting. A
consistent quality of service is more likely by closely following guidance from
Facilities Services.
Transportation
Scheduling and
Selection of
Supplemental
Services
Varying school start or end
bell schedules or extended
hours for the entire school
Description
A multi-tier transportation system maximizes district-wide efficiency and ensures
school resources remain in the classroom. Per current Board policy bell time is
determined by Transportation Services as school start and end times are critical
variables to ensuring the efficient use of a multi-tier system. Bell times can be a
key lever to increase instructional time or extracurricular learning opportunities for
students. At this time, changing bell times is not possible without additional cost
implications. If schools wish to consider changes to the base morning and
afternoon service, critical trade-offs in local school budget decisions would be
necessary to fund the additional service levels. Cost estimates and operational
implications would be evaluated by Transportation Services. Once complete
clusters, feeder patterns, and Learning Communities are transitioned into the
Charter System framework, schools may potentially be able to work collectively to
add time to the day among all schools within their transportation system with less
impact to overall school system budgets. Additional services such as extended
days or Saturday school for targeted students remain currently available. Schools
may use existing transportation services for extended day or may reallocate the
funding for these services as noted in an earlier example in this document.
Potential
Implications
Poorly aligned transportation services would likely impact state funding formulas
significantly as well as the services provided to partner feeder schools within each
Learning Community. Schools would need to work closely with Finance & Budget
and Transportation Services to determine available local school funds, understand
the additional costs of selected supplemental transportation services, and the
district’s capability to provide the service.
Selection of
Custodial and
other Building
Support Services
An array of options to meet
custodial and other building
services needs
Loose
Tight
Currently
Available
N/A
Guiding
Principle
Close to Students
Economies of
Scale
Examples for illustration purposes only
School Autonomy Guidebook 2013-2014 |Page 15 of 20

16. Focus Area: Resources
Tight
or
Loose
General
Idea
Desired Flexibilities or
Innovations
Description
Schools are receiving more of their budgets in real dollars, which increases the
discretion schools have in determining how to spend their funds. Funds related to
positions or programs that may not be central to the school’s mission or strategy
could potentially be better utilized in other areas.
Potential
Implications
Alignment with Finance & Budget keeps an appropriate level of focus on
sustainability and more obscure compliance issues that the district manages
centrally.
School-Based
Fundraising and Use
of Funds
Fund new or incremental staff
positions, programs, or
activities
Setting School
Budget Priorities
Allocating school budget
funds to priority areas
Loose
Loose
Currently Available
or Requires RFF
Currently Available
Currently Available
Guiding
Principle
Central to School
Strategy
Central to School
Strategy
Key Innovation
Description
Many schools have robust fundraising operations to support school activities. There
are broad implications for how these funds are used and how these decisions impact
related district operations. This is more of a policy and procedure concern than a
true innovation. Schools cannot use funds derived from fundraising sources to
purchase positions (i.e., people); these funds may only be allocated for resources
(i.e., things).
Potential
Implications
A school would need to work closely with Finance & Budget to structure such
positions or programs on a consistent expectation of funding, likely develop a longerrange model for the position with Talent to ensure consistency, or “end-date” the
position or resource during each annual budget cycle.
Use of Federal and
Grant Program
Funds
Designating more of school
budget funds to specific
initiatives or priorities
Description and
Potential
Implications
Material variances in the use of Federal and Grant funds (e.g. Title I, Special
Education) could put other district funding sources at risk, as well as increase the
district’s legal exposure. Any decisions regarding these areas must be made at the
district level.
Contracting and
Records
Management
Flexibility
Schools enter into their own
agreements outside of district
guidance and processes
Description and
Potential
Implications
Variability in how local schools enter into contractual arrangements could create
significant legal liability risk for the district and the local school. Central office staff
have key expertise in this area that principals and school staff may not.
Tight
N/A
Compliance
Expertise
Tight
N/A
Compliance
Expertise
Examples for illustration purposes only
School Autonomy Guidebook 2013-2014 |Page 16 of 20

17. 3. How Will Schools Determine Which Flexibilities they
Should Pursue?
Now that we have established the district’s guiding principles that frame what schools can
and cannot do in this environment with greater local school autonomy, it is important to
recall the primary rationale for pursuing Charter System status was to dramatically improve
student performance through greater freedoms and flexibility with accountability.
Just because a school can pursue an idea or innovation, there is a necessary next step to
determine whether it is an appropriate strategy for a particular school. Principals and School
Governance Councils would still need to build a solid case for how a particular proposal
would meet their school’s identified need, and, more importantly, how the idea or concept
would drive sustainable improvements in student achievement.
This determination will be achieved through developing strong School Strategic Plans (SSPs)
and a consistent Request for Flexibility (RFF) evaluation process.
KEY POINT: There is a difference between wishing to change a specific district policy or
process, and developing new, research-based ideas to address student or staff opportunity
areas within a school and community.
Part I. School Strategic Plans (SSPs)
The School Strategic Plan (SSP) process provides a logical course for Principals, School
Leadership Teams and School Governance Councils to determine school needs and
corresponding long-term outcomes. Through the strategic planning process, schools will likely
develop creative approaches to help them realize their goals. Some of these innovations
and ideas will fall within the school’s existing scope of authority, while others may require
waivers from district or state policy or law. To request a waiver from a state or district law or
policy, a school must submit an Earned Request for Flexibility (RFF) proposal to the district. 2
2
Note the distinction between Earned Requests for Flexibility and Universal Requests for Flexibility (which do not require waiving of a law
or policy nor district review). Universal Requests for Flexibility are currently limited to initiatives such as student uniforms and parent
involvement requirements. For more information on Universal Requests for Flexibility, see
http://portal.fultonschools.org/CharterSystem/Documents/SGC%20Guidance%20Documents.pdf.
School Autonomy Guidebook 2013-2014 |Page 17 of 20

18. Part II. Earned Requests for Flexibility (RFFs)
Requests for Flexibility (RFFs) give schools, their stakeholders, and, where applicable, district
administrators the opportunity to assess the feasibility and merit of proposed ideas or
innovations.
The Earned RFF proposal builds off the school’s strategic plan and addresses critical factors
including, but not limited to:

A well thought-out action plan;

Evidence of sufficient research or an indication of the likelihood of success;

A discussion of the potential implications for personnel, operations, schedule, etc.;
and

Budget implications and forecasted resource needs.
The Earned RFF proposal process includes a 30-day public comment period, a School
Governance Council vote, and a district review and approval phase. All Earned RFFs must
be approved by a 2/3 majority vote of the School Governance Council and the
Superintendent in order to be implemented.
Part III. Requests for Flexibility Timeline
Figure 2 presents an overview of the Earned RFF proposal process and timeline for
submissions that Cohort 1 schools will follow during the 2013-2014 school year. 3 A detailed
Earned RFF template, instructions and due dates will be available on the Charter System
website (www.fultonschools.org/CharterSystem) in September 2013.
3
The milestones and deliverables shown on the timeline in this document will also apply to upcoming Cohort 2 and 3 schools and School
Governance Councils as they join the Charter System in future years. Note that this timeline may be revised in the future.
School Autonomy Guidebook 2013-2014 |Page 18 of 20

19. Figure 2 – “Earned” Request for Flexibility (RFF) Timeline [2013-2014 School Year]
Part IV. Initiating Change within the Charter System
While school leaders are empowered to implement many changes at their schools without
undergoing the processes described in this section, the system strongly encourages school
leaders to solicit feedback early and often from members of the school community before
implementing significant changes in school policy or practice.
Fulton’s new shared governance structure provides a unique opportunity for school leaders
to get valuable feedback from representative voices within their school communities, gauge
support for proposed ideas or innovations, and quell possible areas of concern before
enacting major changes.
School leaders are expected to work closely with their School Governance Councils and
Governance and Flexibility Facilitators when deciding whether and how to implement new
strategic efforts within their schools.
School Autonomy Guidebook 2013-2014 |Page 19 of 20

20. Conclusion
The Fulton County Schools Board of Education fully believes that unleashing the innovative
energies of local school leaders and communities, through the increased ownership in
decision-making that our Charter System status provides, will drive tremendous gains in
student achievement and be a model for reform across the nation.
This document is just one example of the support and guidance the district will continue to
provide to encourage thinking differently about how we operate, and prioritize actions that
improve student outcomes system-wide.
Additional resources and information will be frequently updated at the following websites.
Charter System Website
www.fultonschools.org/CharterSystem
Strategic Plan 2017: Building Our
Future Website
www.fultonschools.org/StrategicPlan2017
BOARD OF EDUCATION
Linda Schultz, President
Linda McCain, Vice President
Julia C. Bernath • Linda P. Bryant • Gail Dean
Catherine Maddox • Katie Reeves
Robert M. Avossa, Ed.D., Superintendent
School Autonomy Guidebook 2013-2014 |Page 20 of 20

21. Overview of
Fulton County’s Charter System
Fulton County Schools
September, 2013
1

22. District profile
• Physically bisected by Atlanta Public Schools
– More than 70 miles between northern and southern
most points
– Comprised of 13 cities
• Fourth largest school district in GA
– Over 95,000 students
– 100 schools
• 6,800 certified teachers
• Diverse student population
–
–
–
–
DRAFT
A majority minority District
45% free and reduced lunch
6% English language learners
10% special ed./needs
2

23. Building our Future 2017
Fulton County Schools envisions a system
that is agile and responsive to the needs of
each student…
BUT:
•
The graduation rate across Fulton is too low
•
Budget cuts have become the new normal
•
Our schools need to learn to do more
(Common Core/Georgia Performance
Standards/PARCC) with no additional funds
3

24. Our Theory of Action: Local Decision Making
Promotes Innovation
There is untapped innovation and excellence in our schools
and communities that can be released with shared
governance and flexible systems.
Local School Decision Making Autonomy is Key
• Recognize Diversity: 95,000 unique kids – Vast diversity in
socioeconomic, preparation, languages, interests, etc.
• Decision Closer to Kids: Decentralizing authority empowers
community engagement
• Supports Learning Community Model: Schools communities are
best positioned to develop unique solutions for their students
4

25. Fulton Charter System Basics
What it IS…
What it IS NOT…
•
One unified system where Superintendent
is accountable for student achievement
•
A collection of individual charter schools
with dissimilar accountabilities
•
Existing attendance boundaries policy
•
New attendance lotteries or special
enrollment requirements
•
A systemwide, consistent curriculum with
potential flexibility based on community
interest
•
A set of “theme” oriented schools with
very different standards
•
Existing funding formula per school with
potential flexibilities within each school
•
Different funding allocations for individual
schools
•
All employees hired and managed by the
system with a system salary schedule.
•
Employees hired by the charter school
with salaries set by the school.
5

26. Cohort 1 Schools: 20 Early Adopters
• Non‐startup charter schools will
transition to the School
Governance Council model over
the next three years
• In Spring 2012, we asked principals
to determine which cohort (1,2 or
3) to join
– Intentionally made this a self‐
selecting process
– End result: 20 schools with strong
representation of all school levels
(ES, MS, and HS), Learning
Communities and Title I schools in
Cohort 1
Profile of Cohort One Schools
Level
Learning Community
High ‐ 5
Northeast ‐ 4
Middle ‐ 4
Northwest ‐ 5
Elementary ‐ 11
Central ‐ 5
South ‐ 6
6

27. School Governance Councils responsible
for strategic direction of school
• Approve the school strategic plan
• Approve the annual budget recommendations
• Request flexibility from the District for innovation
• Participate in hiring of the Principal, when vacant
• Provide annual feedback on Principal
performance
7

28. School Governance Councils have school
and community representation
• 3 parents/guardians elected by parents/guardians
with children enrolled at the school
• 2 teachers elected by the school employees
• 2 school‐based employees appointed by the Principal
• 2 community members nominated by the Principal &
approved by the SGC members
• Principal (non‐voting)
• For high schools: 2 students (non‐voting)
8

29. Cohort 1 elections administered centrally
Metrics of
Success
Candidate
Guide
Online
elections
tool
Candidate
posters
displayed
in school
Advertisement
for Candidate
“Meet and
Greet”
• No “empty”
seats
• 220 candidates
for 95 slots
• 3,015 total
voters
• 60% employee
turnout
GOTV
stickers
9

30. Training is Essential to the Transition
Fulton Leadership and
Innovation Academy
Training Modules
1. Strategic School Design
2. Decision Analysis
•
Ensure good governance
•
Establish common understanding
of data and school finance
4. Strategic planning Processes
Provide problem‐solving and
decision analysis tools
6. Executive Leadership Skills
Ensure principal has sufficient
support
8. School Finance
•
•
3. Governance Overview
5. Problem Analysis
7. Executive Coaching
9. Requests for Flexibility
10

31. PHASE 1
Step 1
Step 2
PHASE 2
Step 3
Step 4
Step 5
Step 6
PHASE 3
Action Plan &
Monitoring
Outcomes & Theory of Change
Information &
Needs Analysis
Strategic Planning Model
Step 7
Step 8
Step 9
• Environmental Scan
• Organizational Assessment
April to July
• Analyze Implications
July
• Define Long‐term Outcomes
July
• Develop Theory of Change: Focus Areas and
Objectives
August
• Define Measures and Targets
September
• Develop Strategic Initiatives
September
• Create Action Plans
October/November
• Assess Ongoing Work
October/November
• Develop Monitoring Plan
November/December
11

32. The district has defined two types of
School Flexibility Options
Earned
Flexibility
Establish parent involvement requirements
•
Implement dress codes for students
•
Create Professional development focus aligned with
school strategic plan.
•
Universal
Flexibility
•
Create credit‐bearing internships, apprenticeships
and other real‐world experiences aligned with
students’ career and academic interests.
•
Develop additional courses or partner with
universities to allow students to excel beyond a
traditional high school curriculum by relaxing seat
time requirements
•
Use qualified professionals, in addition to certified
teachers, to teach applications of science and math
12

33. The Seed Fund Supports Innovation
In Spring 2013, the legislature appropriated $7.8M to
Fulton County to support the Charter System, with an
expectation of a $4m annual allocation
“Funds appropriated pursuant to
this Code section shall be used…to
advance student achievement
goals and school level governance
training objectives pursuant to
the charter.“
Title 20 ‐ §20‐2‐165.1
Fulton County Approach
•
•
•
Hold separate from general
fund
Inspire creative thinking
from School Governance
Councils
Demonstrate to the State
that these funds are invested
responsibly
13

34. Tools will build idea‐generating capacity
Knowledge
Management
System
•
Share best
practices
•
Document local
innovations
•
Catalogue use and
outcomes of new
ideas nationwide
14

35. What We’ve Learned
• Inclusiveness is difficult but necessary
• Clearly defining roles, rationale, and specific
outcomes is critical – Sweat the small stuff
• Work with early adopters first who are best suited to
accommodate the uncertainty
• Board support is absolutely essential
15

36. The Fulton Charter System Website has been a
valuable resource for our community
• Cohort 1 Implementation
materials, tools, and guidance
• Responses to Commonly Asked
Charter System Questions
• All Presentations and related
documents
2012 GSPRA
“Gold Award”
Winner
• Charter System Application
www.fultonschools.org/CharterSystem
16