Smyrna Academy of Excellence Awaits Cobb County Board of Education Decision
This has been a big week for the Smyrna Academy of Excellence (SAE), a K-12 Charter School in South Cobb that is pending approval from The Cobb County Board of Education.
If approved, the Smyrna Academy of Excellence will open for the 2013-2014 school year in the South Cobb area and serve grades K-6. A grade level will be added each year until the school is K-12. The charter school will be managed and governed by South Cobb parents, residents and educators and will focus on providing a 100% college bound culture for students.
Here are the latest developments:
- SAE submitted their charter petition to the Cobb County Board of Education on May 1 and are now on the board's agenda for discussion this Wednesday June 13 beginning at 8:30am. A final decision is scheduled for the Thursday June 28 board meeting.
- The Wednesday June 13 meeting is open to the public and the school invites supporters to come and make their voices heard. The meeting will begin at 8:30am at the CCSD District Office: 514 Glover Street, Marietta, GA 30060;
- SAE learned on Friday that they have been invited to apply for the Race to the Top Innovation Fund by the Governor's office. Only applicants that scored 80 percent or higher on the scoring rubric are invited to apply;
- The organization received a verbal confirmation from the IRS last week that their 501c3 non profit status is being accepted;
- To date, the Smyrna Academy of Excellence has collected almost 2000 letters of support from members of the community and family members of Cobb County students;
- Partnerships have been created with Southern Poly, Georgia State, Georgia Tech, Kennesaw State, Chattahoochee Tech and Lockheed Martin
The Smyrna Academy of Excellence would like to stress that this charter school is different because it is being created, managed, governed and led by South Cobb educators, parents and residents. For the health and welfare of the school, they will not relinquish these responsibilities to any outside organization under any circumstances.
To learn more, visit them at www.smyrnaacademyofexcellence.org or follow their Facebook Page where they will post the latest news and developments as they happen.
Larry King
10:49 am on Tuesday, June 12, 2012
During the past several months, the CCSD has denied and rejected several charter school petitions. The one before them presently is the Smyrna Academy of Excellence which will face an up or down vote on June 28th.
This initiative to prepare a much larger percentage of South Cobb students for academic success and a more promising future as a high school graduate differs markedly from previous petitions. First, it is a true community driven effort with nearly 1900 parents and business supporters. Second it is not a profit-driven project by an EMO. Third, it is innovative in its development plan and has a sound financial structure.
The Smyrna Academy of Excellence petition seeks to address the principle challenge facing parents in South Cobb. 43% of 9th grade students in South Cobb did not graduate in 4 years.
The Smyrna Academy of Excellence petition is not burdened by self interest or the desire to profit and should be supported by the Board. I am a member of the Governing Board for the Smyrna Academy of Excellence and support this effort without any reservation.