The Merger is formally approved! NCS+ACMS=ANCS
The merger of the Atlanta Charter Middle School and the Neighborhood Charter School was formally approved by the state Board of Education on March 10, 2011. Our two schools will become one K-8 school with two campuses this summer: the Atlanta Neighborhood Charter School (ANCS). Stay tuned for more details! In the meantime, all are welcome to attend an update from the merger transition taskforce at 6:30 immediately prior to the governing board meeting each month. The next meeting is Wednesday, March 16 at NCS.
NCS-ACMS Merger
Growing out of the schools' long-standing relationship with each other, last year the Neighborhood Charter School (NCS), a K-5 charter elementary school in Grant Park, and our school, the Atlanta Charter Middle School (ACMS), began the formal process of exploring merging into a single K-8 charter school with two campuses. Merging into a single school would hold many benefits. Most importantly, the educational benefits of a K-8 school (as opposed to a stand-alone 6th-8th grade middle school) are well-researched and obvious. Students and teachers can build more lasting relationships. Teachers from the elementary and middle grades can work more closely to articulate a rich and engaging educational program across the grade levels that reflects the common principles of the Coalition of Essential Schools as teachers know where students are coming from and where they are going to. Parent involvement would likely increase as families make an investment of time and energy into a school for nine years rather than three.
Organizationally, a K-8 school enhances our work, especially as a charter school. Governance is strengthened by being able to cultivate leadership over a longer period of time. The management of the school and its financial position becomes more robust by sharing resources smartly and effectively.
And so , in pursuit of these benefits, the two schools worked together and with a consulting group, spending several months of planning, writing, and gaining community input before the charter petition for this proposed school—the Atlanta Neighborhood Charter School (ANCS)—was approved by both schools’ governing boards and by the Atlanta Board of Education in July 2010. The petition is now with the Georgia Department of Education where we hope it will soon be approved so that ANCS can begin operation as a K-8 school for the 2011-12 school year.
The process of merging schools is a delicate one, and we wish to keep all informed about the transition in several different ways, one of which will be this page on the ACMS website. Please check back often for the latest communication updates on the merger process, and feel free to visit the links below for additional information.
Useful Links
Latest Merger Communication Update October, 4th
ANCS Charter Petition Proposed Budget