Renewal Site Visit
The charter school renewal site visit is a critical part of the charter renewal process. Beginning August 1, 2025, a team of impartial reviewers will conduct a site visit to the charter school for one full day after the school submits its renewal application and the required documentation and artifacts. The purpose of the renewal site visit is to observe charter school programs, policies, practices, and procedures to assess their efficacy and fidelity to the school’s charter and aligned operating systems. Evidence collected through site visit observations, interviews, and focus groups will inform the renewal report submitted to the Clayton County County Board of Education.
Site Visit Review Team:
The site visit review team will consist of impartial reviewers with the necessary skills and expertise to credibly evaluate all aspects of school operations and performance. The team will consist of at least four members:
Charter Office representative
Chief Academic Officer
finance and operations expert
Special Education expert/Gifted/ESOL
School leadership
Federal Programs
External expert
Components:
The site visit is designed to collect data to confirm and augment the review of the school’s renewal application,performance data, and relevant documents and artifacts. The review team will conduct interviews and focus groups with diverse stakeholders, including school leaders, board members, teachers, and family members.
The site visit will consist of the following:
- School Tour: Guided tour of the school facility to observe school operations, procedures, maintenance,
routines, and health and safety measures.
2.Classroom Observations: Informal and random classroom observations conducted for a variety of grade levels and content areas.
3.Meeting with the Governance Board- Informational interview with the charter school’s governing
council regarding charter school governance, performance, operations, and long-term viability.
4.Meeting with the Charter School Director/Principal: Informational interview with charter school
leadership (including CMO leadership, if applicable) regarding charter school performance,
programming, operations, enrollment, and staffing.
5. Meeting with the Finance/Operations Manager: Informational interview with charter school personnel
regarding accounting procedures, financial status, general school operations, and facilities maintenance
and improvement.
6.Faculty Focus Groups: Conversations with school staff regarding charter school performance,
programming, operations, enrollment, and staff development.
7.Parent/Community Focus Groups: Conversations with families and community partners regarding
charter school performance, school climate, programming, operations, and enrollment.
Special Education Review: Review of special education files and procedures.
Sample Schedule:
The Charter School Office will work with charter school leadership to develop a schedule for the renewal site visit that includes the required components outlined above. Charter school leaders are responsible for reserving a conference room and/or classroom for the review team to conduct the site visit. Also, charter school leaders are responsible for notifying and coordinating the relevant parties participating in the identified interviews and focus groups.
Time: Activity:
9:15 - 10:00 AM School tour
10:00 - 10:45 AM Faculty focus group
11:00 - 11:45 AM Classroom observations/Meeting with the Director
11:45 AM - 12:15 PM Lunch break
12:15 PM - 1:15 PM Meeting with the Board of Directors
1:15 PM - 2:00 PM Classroom observations/Meeting with the Finance/Operations Manager
2:00 PM - 3:00 PM Classroom observations/Special education review
3:00 PM - 3:45 PM Parent and community focus group
RENEWAL REPORT:
At the conclusion of the renewal process, the CCPS Charter Department prepares a renewal report synthesizing data including, but not limited to, school performance data, the charter renewal application, relevant documents and artifacts, and findings from the renewal site visit. The school will receive a rating of “meets/exceeds”, “approaches”, or “falls below” in each of the indicator areas articulated in the CCPS charter school performance framework. Each of the performance standard areas will include relevant notes and evidence used to make ratingdeterminations.