The possibility of getting either Amanda Elzy High School and Leflore County High School designated as a charter school will be the subject of a meeting Wednesday night.
The meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. at the Greenwood-Leflore County Chamber of Commerce building on U.S. 82.
Carolyn Willis, an organizer of the meeting, said its purpose is to explore options and see if there is any interest in exploring a charter school.
“I’m interested in anything that improves our schools,” Willis said. “If that includes the charter school, I’m in favor of that option.”
The move would require a majority of parents to sign a petition that would have to be approved by the state Board of Education. If successful, the effort would take the schools from their current administrators and set up new management independent of the Leflore County School Board.
On Friday, both Amanda Elzy and Leflore County high schools were among 35 Mississippi schools eligible for conversion into charter schools, according to the state Department of Education.
The Leflore County School District was classified as “Low-Performing” and received an “F” under the state accountability system in September, as did all of its schools except Amanda Elzy Elementary.
Troy Brown Sr., another meeting organizer, said the meeting is a necessary first step.
“If you look at the schools now, we feel that we don’t have any direction to go but up,” he said. “This is our moment in time to make this happen.”
Under a 2010 state law, the state Board of Education is allowed to grant up to 12 charters, with a limit of three per congressional district.
The law did provide, beginning with the September release of school ratings, an opportunity for parents to take over schools that have scored what is now labeled an “F” on the school rating system for three straight years.
Last fall, 82 schools were on track to be charter-eligible, but most improved their performance enough to get off the list, according to an official with the state’s School Improvement Board.
Under any such charter school conversion, parents would have to develop a full plan on how they would run the school, including a budget. The plan would also have to show how new leaders would raise academic standards to at least a “C” grade under the state’s current school rating system.
In addition, the charter would have to make an annual report to parents, its school district and the state Board of Education.
Once a plan is developed, each family with children in the school would get one vote on seeking a charter.
If it were approved, the state Board of Education would evaluate the proposal and could set up a charter for at least three years.
A five-member parents’ board would run the academic affairs of the charter with oversight from the state.
Brown doesn’t have any children in Leflore County public schools currently, but he said the issue of failing schools has larger implications than just family.
“We all have a vested interest in making sure that the school system is the best that it can be,” he said. “If you’re a taxpayer, you’re part of the school system.”
Willis, who has an eighth-grader at East School, said she is concerned about her daughter’s advancement to Amanda Elzy High School next year. She said she’s ready to begin a dialogue on the future of the high schools.
“We would do our children a disservice if we did not explore those options. I look forward to Wednesday night to see how many parents want to pursue this,” she said.
Brown said the Legislature will likely take up charter schools in the next session, perhaps making it easier for the effort to get traction.
“This is our moment in time to make this happen. ... This is not just an opportunity to talk about making changes but to actually do something,” he said.
Efforts to reach Leflore County Superintendent of Education Viola Williams McCaskill for comment on Saturday were not successful.
