During the Monday October 18th, 2010, SAISD School Board Meeting, Alliance President, Shelley Potter, and three SAISD schools spoke to the School Board about Internal Charter School Applications.
Currently, SAISD has eleven in-district charter schools. Under the AFT (American Federation of Teachers) Innovation Fund Grant, the Alliance is focused on Internal Charter Schools as a way to grow student enrollment and improve student achievement.
In early 2010, six SAISD schools were in the process of writing charter applications. However, in late July, the District learned that the state had changed its deadline date for new charter applications. In order for these schools to be eligible to apply to the state for startup funds for next school year, their Internal Charter Application had to be approved by the School Board by October 29th. Three SAISD schools, Rhodes Middle School, Travis Early College and Highland Park Elementary School decided to continue with the process.
The applications for Rhodes and Travis were on the Board agenda for the October 18 th meeting. Highland Park’s application was not on the agenda due to legal concerns with some parts of the application. After hearing presentations from both Rhodes and Travis, the School Board unanimously voted to approve both Internal Charter School Applications.
The Board also agreed to schedule a “Special Called Board Meeting” on Monday October 25th to review Highland Park’s revised application.
Rhodes and Travis will now submit their applications to the state to apply for startup funds, which if accepted, would go into effect next school year. Rhodes, which already has a technology magnet on its campus, will have a technology focus as a charter. Travis will retain its early college focus.
Watch Alliance President Shelley Potter Speak to the Board
Watch Rhodes Middle School's Presentation to the School Board
Watch Travis Early College's Presentation to the School Board
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