CCPS Charter School Request for Proposals

 

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP) TO 

ESTABLISH 

CLAYTON COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

CHARTER SCHOOLS 

(Opening in the 2027-2028 school year) 

Clayton County Board of Education Authorizer 

August 2025 

Clayton County Public Schools Charter Department 

Request for Proposal for Charter School Applicants 

The Mission and Purpose for Charter Schools in Clayton County 

High quality charter schools have the potential to be a useful structure to help effectively educate all Clayton County Public Schools students. Clayton County Public Schools (CCPS) seeks excellent schools, without exception, that will enhance quality public education choices for students and their families. Charter schools are meant to serve as innovative learning centers where strong teachers and experienced administrators advance each child’s achievement every day. Every student in our district deserves high quality opportunities to learn, grow and achieve their full potential. The CCPS Charter School Review Committee has high expectations and uses rigorous quality standards to ensure that the charter schools that operate in our district are of exceptional caliber and focus on increasing student achievement, eliminating disparities, and creating a positive culture. 

Our Call for Charter Schools 

The CCPS  Request for Proposals (RFP) seeks to establish new charter schools in the Clayton County Public School system to begin operation in the 2027-2028 school year. The RFP invites charter school applicants willing to collaborate with CCPS to address our greatest educational challenges and improve student performance outcomes in accordance with the goals of the Clayton County Board of Education. This request for proposals is a guide to the content and structure of the information that must be included in the application, including the application documents required by the Office of Charter School Compliance (OCSC). To the best of our knowledge the information contained herein is accurate; however, as state laws frequently are amended, it is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure the application meets all the local charter school authorizer and state requirements. The application must include detailed information about the proposed charter school concerning the academic program; organizational structure and capacity; fiscal development, financial status and future sustainability strategy; and, program and pupil governance models. Not only must the proposal demonstrate strength in each of these areas, it should also be considered as a blueprint for the daily school operations because the charter school will be monitored, assessed and evaluated on performance based on the contents of the approved application and the Clayton County Performance Framework. 

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CCPS is looking for charter schools that specifically address an innovative approach to the following priorities as identified in the CCPS Strategic Plan: 

● Increasing student academic achievement and growth, particularly in high poverty and high needs schools/populations where achievement outcomes are in the lowest quintile of the school system ● Enhancing student academic success by focusing on the learning needs of each individual student and providing access to high quality, rigorous, differentiated instruction and high expectations in every classroom, every day 

● Closing achievement gaps defined by subgroups.

● Ensuring that the school is staffed with a cadre of highly effective educators who are continually working collaboratively to improve upon their instructional craft and their classroom management.

● Engaging students’ families and the school community meaningfully in the educational process ● Developing operational infrastructures that facilitate and support student learning and success 

CCPS is looking for proposals that aim to address the four priorities of Superintendent Dr. Anthony Smith which ensures every graduate must leave with a plan rooted in one of the district’s “4 Es”—

• Enrollment,
• Enlistment, 
• Employment, or 
• Entrepreneurship

Additionally, the CCPS is seeking: 

● New or conversion charter schools that show a deep commitment to effectively educating every single child enrolled and that embrace diversity in all its forms 

● New or conversion charter schools that can successfully maximize the school day, school week, and/or school year to provide more abundant and high quality learning opportunities for students to achieve and succeed 

● Conversion schools that demonstrate the capacity to radically change both the culture and the results of schools in the lowest achievement quintile in the school system, that operate with a knowledge of and an emphasis on turnaround strategies 

● New and/or conversion schools that employ innovative and/or proven approaches to providing a high quality and effective education to students while operating within a resource-constrained fiscal environment 

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Other Considerations: 

● Evidence that demonstrates outreach to and engagement with the community in which the applicant intends to locate 

●  Evidence of a strong instructional technology plan to support excellent classroom instruction 

● Detailed facilities research leading to the likelihood of minimal challenges in identifying and securing an appropriate facility that will support the mission of the school 

● Identify an outstanding potential school leader, or have a specific plan as to how to do so within 90 days of the charter being approved 

CCPS seeks charter school applications to cultivate strong school capacity and provide high quality academic instruction. Proposals will be entertained both for new charter schools as well as potential conversions of existing schools to charters. Each proposal should demonstrate substantial capacity to support its plans financially and execute its vision of excellence for every child. 

All charter schools must employ non-selective admission criteria and ensure that students will achieve predetermined goals by the second year of operations. The detailed strategies, capacity, support, experience, and planning necessary to ensure that operational and management issues do not distract from an overall focus on raising academic achievement. CCPS  will be incredibly selective in its evaluation of proposals on behalf of the children to be served. Our goal is to build a system of schools that provides every student with the foundation of knowledge, skills, and competencies necessary to excel in higher education, work and life. 

 

New Traditional Charter Schools 

Applications for new traditional charter schools must offer an innovative, compelling and evidence-based plan for a high-quality charter school, and demonstrate that the plan was collaboratively developed by a diverse and expert design team. CCPS greatly values the vision, plans, and intentions of new school applicants. The Charter School Review Committee will carefully examine and weigh the record of those applicants who are currently operating schools, especially for charter school expansion and replication purposes. For applicants not currently operating schools, the district will carefully examine and weigh the experience of the proposed school leadership team as well as the engagement and experience of the governing board. 

All applicants must complete the state-mandated application and follow district policy and deadlines for submission. In addition to all state and local application requirements, applicants must show evidence of: ● A record of proven academic success in currently operating schools or a leadership team with experience of proven success in increasing student academic achievement 

● A strong and well-organized leader committed to educational reform possessing a background demonstrating success with the proposed educational plan and student profile 

● An educational plan rooted in high expectations, in line with the school’s stated mission, providing a personalized learning environment for all students. Ideally, the educational plan will have a record of previous success with the target student population 

● A comprehensive and research-based curriculum and assessment program designed to hold all students; including those with disabilities, limited English proficiency, and specialized needs, to high-achievement goals 

● Strategies to attract and retain energetic and highly effective teachers and staff who will actively engage in professional development opportunities and sharing of research-based best practices 

● A strong understanding of the community to be served through demonstrated community support including strong community connections, a track record of service, and a documented measure of student demand 

● Meaningful opportunities to involve parents and community, including evidence of significant community and stakeholder engagement and overwhelming stakeholder interest in the charter school 

● A strong, knowledgeable, diverse, stable, and committed board of governance or a leadership team committed to best practices in school governance with a strong financial management background 

● A detailed and sustainable five-year plan demonstrating growth and improvement 

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Conversion Charter Schools 

Proposals for conversion schools must meet all of the standards for new traditional charter school proposals with the following additions: 

● Proposals must clearly identify the specific school to be converted and provide substantial and detailed justification outlining the need for conversion. 

● Proposals must offer clear and measurable strategies for achieving dramatic academic improvement by specifically addressing identified needs. 

● Proposals must include documentation of how the interests of the CCPS, students, families, teachers, staff, school community, and the broader community would be well served by a conversion to a charter school. 

● Proposals must identify the specific parameters of conversion as part of the operational and educational plan proposed. 

● Proposals must detail the transition timeline including effective communication strategies and procedures for exercising options at the family, teacher, staff, and leadership levels recognizing potential impact of disruptions to the academic environment. 

Review Process for Applications to Establish a Charter School 

If the submitted proposal has been preceded by the required Letter of Intent (due November 20,2025) with satisfactory evidence of community outreach, the deadline for submitting a new charter application is January 5, 2025.  According to state law, the review committee has ninety calendar days to review all applications submitted and make recommendations to the Clayton County Board of Education for approval/denial decisions. 

In the event the Clayton County Board of Education does not approve the charter application, the applicant will receive a letter outlining the specific details that led to the decision to deny the applicant a charter. A denial means that the local board of education has determined that the charter school application is not “in the best interests of the pupils, school district or community”. Should the applicant decide to remedy the deficits, the applicant has thirty calendar days to submit an amended application. The CCPS Charter School Review Committee will then have thirty calendar days to review the amended application and make a recommendation to the Clayton County Board of Education. 

Any new information inserted in the application, including appendices, will be reviewed by the CCPS Charter School Review Committee and a new CCPS  recommendation will be made based on the complete amended application. 

The initial CCPS  review process includes the following: 

● Individual review of the application by appropriate CCPS  staff and community members from academic, enrollment, operational, legal, and fiscal perspectives 

● Assignment of scores based on the CCPS rubric 

● Review meetings to determine if the application has thoroughly addressed all required areas to advance to the next CCPS Charter Application review phase 

The second phase of the review process includes the following: 

● Applicants with proposals that meet all state, legal and local requirements will be scheduled for capacity interviews with the review team and members and the proposed school’s founding group, proposed governing board representatives, and others who can speak knowledgeably about the proposed academic program, organizational capacity, budget and governance structure. 

● Proposals of sufficient quality and completeness may undergo a Request for Amendment process to resolve review committee concerns and assure compliance with all applicable laws and regulations. ● If the school proposes to partner with a non-profit CMO or a business, community or educational partner organization, the review committee will conduct a due diligence process with the organization. The organization will provide a written response to a questionnaire regarding the organization’s structure, staffing, finances, future plans and the academic performance of other schools it serves that enroll similar populations. 

● Members of the review committee  may also conduct an interview of representatives of the proposed management or partner organization to discuss the responses to the questionnaire. The results of the due diligence and final interviews further inform the review committee’s final recommendation. 

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Please note: CCPS has supplementary guidance, in addition to the state website, for their application process. Supplementary guidance is provided in this RFP and also listed on the CCPS Charter Department website page. Please contact the CCPS Charter School Department via email at ccps_charters@clayton.k12.ga.us well in advance of submitting your application for any additional guidance and support. 

The CCPS website provides links to all documents needed for the application process. If you need further assistance, you may email questions to the following:

Dr. Chantara Rumph-Carter,  Director of Charter Schools,  email-ccps_charters@clayton.k12.ga.us.

Clayton County Public Schools 

1058 Fifth Avenue 

     Jonesboro, Georgia 30236