News From the LOA Board of Governors - August Edition

We hope your school year is off to a great start! The Lake Oconee Academy Board of Governors held its monthly meeting on Monday, August 7th. We want to share some highlights with you:

●     LOA Waiting List - There are currently 355 students on the waiting list.

 ●     Charter Renewal Update - The LOA BOG approved LOA to send over its responses to the request for clarification from the Greene County School System. For more information regarding the charter renewal, please visit the Charter Renewal Resource Center located on the Charter Schools Tab on the LOA website and Quick Link at the top of the website.

●     Alternative Education Program was approved to be sent to GADOE- More information about this program can be found here.

●     Discussion of the Cognia Accreditation - LOA is currently going through the process of accreditation through the accreditation agency, Cognia. On their website, Cognia shares, “For more than 125 years, schools have been inviting Cognia and our legacy agencies, NCA CASI, NWAC, and SACS CASI, into their classrooms. Why? Because we go beyond evaluating school quality. We provide trusted expertise and actionable ideas that move the needle on school quality."

○     Accreditation is the launchpad for school improvement. Based on rigorous research-based standards and evidence-based criteria, the process probes the whole institution—from policies to learning conditions and cultural context—to determine how well the parts work together to meet the needs of every learner.

○     Accreditation isn’t about passing a one-time inspection—it helps education providers meet improvement goals and sustain commitments to better learner outcomes.

○     Cognia identifies schools and systems that best exemplify excellence in education and stand out in the service to learners based on the results of our rigorous accreditation process, as stated on their website. For more information on the accreditation process, please visit cognia.org. As a part of the accreditation process, a Cognia team will do a virtual site visit on Tuesday, November 28th.

If you have any questions or concerns, you can reach the LOA Board of Governors by emailing LOABOG@lakeoconeeacademy.org.

We are ONE TITAN!

To view the August newsletter online, please click here: https://conta.cc/3E0T1jM

News From the LOA Board of Governors - Charter Renewal

Titan Family and Friends,

Thursday, July 13, 2023, the Greene County School System (GCSS) Board of Education (BOE) held a called meeting to discuss their clarification requests regarding the LOA Charter Renewal Application, to vote on approval to submit said requests to LOA, and to vote on approval to submit an extension request to the 90-day deadline (outlined in Georgia State Board Rule 160-4-9-.05 Charter Renewal Petitions Process) for the Charter Renewal Application. 

On Tuesday, July 18, 2023, the LOA Board of Governors (BOG) held a special called meeting at 5:30 PM in the 300 Building/Cafeteria.

We have detailed below the items covered at the July 18th special called meeting...

Discussion of the GCSS BOE Charter Application-Clarification Requests: At the meeting, a discussion was held regarding the GCSS Charter Application-Clarification Request that was received by LOA on July 13, 2023. Chairman Michael Tompkins, Dr. Brad Bowling, and Dr. Otho Tucker shared concerns about various items in the clarification request document and spoke specifically to the GCSS “non-negotiables” that were a part of said document. Among the concerns addressed were:

• The timeline of the charter renewal process, and the GCSS BOE delay in response to the charter petition

• Elements in the GCSS BOE response to the charter petition that appear to attempt to control, oversee, and monitor the growth, development, operations, and educational programs of the school, rather than grant the autonomy that charter schools are characterized by

• Requests to prove the success of LOA despite ample evidence already provided

•  A list of “non-negotiables” from the GCSS BOE that cause divisiveness rather than collaboration. Dr. Bowling and Dr. Tucker spoke to each of these from the perspective of LOA:

• Special Education and Services to Students with Disabilities

• Data used to inform instruction and comparisons between LOA and GCSS

• School discipline

• School safety plan

• Strategic Planning/Surveys

• Applications to the charter school

• Facilities

• Enrollment cap

• Funding

• Chairman Tompkins allowed for questions from the LOA Board of Governors. Dr. Bowling and Dr. Tucker responded to each question

Response to GCSS BOE request an additional 90-day extension to the July 15th deadline (received July 13, 2023): Pursuant to OCGA § 20-2-2064(a) and (b) and State Board of Education Rule 160-4-9-.05(1)(b), a local board of education must approve or deny a charter petition within 90 days of submission unless the charter applicant offers an extension. The Greene County Board of Education did not vote on Lake Oconee Academy’s petition within the 90-day period. At the meeting, the Board of Governors met and voted to agree to an extension of 30 days from the date LOA’s responses to the GCSS Request for Clarifications is sent, in order to give the Board time to review this additional information and reach a final decision on our charter.

The LOA Administration and the Board of Governors will continue efforts to increase communications between the LOABOG and the community at large. We are committed to keeping the community informed about LOA, not only regarding the upcoming Charter Renewal, but in all facets of our great school.

The next LOABOG is scheduled for Monday, August 7, 2023 at 5:30pm and will be held in room 102 of the LOA Upper School, Building 800. The next GCSSBOE meeting is scheduled for Thursday, August 17, 2023 at 6:00 p.m. in the Board Meeting Room located at 101 East Third Street, Greensboro, Georgia. We encourage parents, faculty and community members to attend these regularly scheduled meetings when possible.

If you have any questions or concerns you can reach the LOA Board of Governors by emailing LOABOG@lakeoconeeacademy.org.

We are ONE TITAN!