Schools

DeKalb School Board Approves Museum School

A new day has dawned for the charter school, which will get one year reprieve to operate under DCSS.

It's official: The Museum School of Avondale Estates is now part of the DeKalb County system.

The DeKalb County School System voted unanimously to approve the upstart charter school for one year. DeKalb County board members expedited the usual process in order to save the highly successful Museum School.

The next step for the Museum School, now under the wing of DeKalb schools, is approval by the State Board of Education on June 28.

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"We're really excited," said Sasha Webb, board chair of The Museum School, in an interview. "The state will potentially endorse that decision and we have every expectation that they will approve that."

With this move, it gives the Museum School a one year reprieve following a recent that said charter schools approved by the state are unconstitutional.

Find out what's happening in Decatur-Avondale Estateswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

While operating under a one-year waiver, the Museum School will be able to apply for a regular charter to operate to remain open for a five-year period.

The move comes after the Georgia Supreme Court ruled the the law creating the Georgia Charter Schools Commission unconstitutional and that the state's constitution only gave local  districts the authority to create schools.

The commission was formed to oversee the formations and public financing of state chartered schools.

Webb said that the timeline is not yet known for the process to apply.

"We’re waiting to hear from the DeKalb County School System for the expectations for that process," Webb said.

The school's museum concept of learning incorporates arts and cultural experiences. Students step outside their classrooms and engage in activities at cultural instutions like the Georgia Aquarium to learn from experts within these organizations.

The launch of The Museum School was seven years in the making and it was conceived by area residents and parents, many of whom chipped in their own money. A sign outside the school shows that more than $300,000 has been raised for the development fund for a permanent building.

Currently, the Museum School is operating in a modular building on Covington Highway and is expanding the space to add more classrooms, including the fourth grade.

Under charter guidelines, the Museum School does have free use to empty DeKalb school facilities. However, Webb said the decision is so fresh, that a permanent facility is not a focus at this point.

"This whole process has been on an expeditied timeline," Webb said. "Now that we are past this checkpoint, we can start those discussions."


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