individuals to from Georgia DOE's website for K 12 school in Preston

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The mission of Webster County Charter High School will be to provide a quality education thus empowering
Georgia Department of Education Charter Petition Cover Sheets This form is for use by private individuals, private organizations, state, or localpublic entities only.Charter petitions should address the requirements contained in the Charter Schools Act of1998 (O.C.G.A.§§ 20-2-2060 through 20-2-2071) and State Board of Education Rule160-4-9-.04 CHARTER SCHOOLS and any applicable local board rules and regulations.Petitioners are encouraged to be clear and concise in addressing the petitionrequirements. These petition cover sheets should be attached to the petition.Check one:__X__ new petition ____ renewal petitionThis charter school petition is being submitted by a (check one)____ Private Individual(s)____ Private Organization Name of Organization:____ State Public EntityName of Entity___X__ Local Public EntityName of Entity Webster County Board of EducationName of Proposed Charter School: Webster County High SchoolContact person: Dr. James W.“Kip” StevensName Title: Superintendent/Principal Contact address: P.O. Box 149 Preston, GA 31824 Contact telephone number:[phone]Contact FAX number:[phone]E-mail address: [e-mail] ol district in which charter school will be located: Webster County
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Yr 2
50 39 44 123
Yr 3
40 50 3944 163
Yr 4
50 40 5039 179
Yr 5
52 50 40 50 192
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ASSURANCE
Petitioner(s) assure(s) that the proposed charter school programs, services and activitieswill operate in accordance with the terms of the charter and all applicable federal, state,and local laws, rules and regulations
Charter Petitioner
James W. Stevens Ed.D.
The original charter school petition was approved by the Webster County Board of Education on December 11, 2006.
This revised charter school petition was approved by the Webster County
Board of Education on April 23, 2007

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Webster County Charter High School Executive Summary School Name: Webster County Charter High School Type: LEA Start Up Approved by the Webster County Board of Education on December 11, 2006 Revised edition requested by DOE approved by the WC BOE on April 23, 2007MissionThe mission of Webster County Charter High School will be to provide a qualityeducation, thus empowering individuals to become caring, competent, responsible citizens who value education as a lifelong process.Academic Program:The Georgia Quality Core Curriculum (QCC) along with Georgia PerformanceStandards (GPS) phase in will be the foundation of the charter school curriculum. Ouraccountability will be measured as other high schools in Georgia by the Georgia State Board of Education requirements of the Georgia High School Graduation Tests, Georgia High School Writing Assessment, and End of Course Tests. Where we will differ is in our approach to meeting the expectation of the No Child Left Behind legislation and the Georgia State Board of Education from that of a „traditional high school.‟ We will accomplish our mission through research driven „out of the box‟ thinkingwith a „No excuses‟ attitude to turn our small size and limited resources into our greatest assets. Webster County High School will be a school where small class size and caringteachers overcome the obstacles to learning for each individual student (this includes the inclusion of students with disabilities in the regular program).Through the flexibility provided by a charter we will implement innovative programs such as: Advisee/ Individual Education Plan (Path to Academic and Social Success-PASS); “Four Schools in One.”; interdisciplinary curriculum; place-based education, flexible scheduling; Gainesville City Pre-Post test Model; peer tutoring, and mentoring..Technology will play a key role in our charter school. Through the use of Nova-net, Georgia Virtual High School, Test-Gate, Accelerated Reading, and other programs wewill be able to maximize our teaching resources. For example a math teacher through the use of computers could effectively provide instruction to students working on Algebra I, II, Geometry, Trigonometry and Calculus in the same room at the same time.The keystone of our charter will be the requirement of forty hours of communityservice for graduation. This requirement serves the community through the various projects, it promotes public relations and awareness by getting our high school students out into the community, and it is our belief that it will instill in our students an intrinsic need to give back to their community. We hope that over time this requirement willarouse the pride, commitment, and very heart and soul of the community that has slowly eroded since the loss of the high school thirty-one years ago (when Jimmy Carter was a Governor at the thime).Organization Webster County High School will be under the control and management of the Webster County Board of Education consistent with this charter and the Georgia Constitution. Webster County High School will serve as the only high school in the Webster County school district and will accept all students who reside in

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Webster County. Any student who resides outside of the county who wishes to enroll will berequired to pay tuition.The school council of Webster County High School will serve as the governing board. The council will consist of the principal, two parents, two teachers, and two business leaders from the community. The council will abide by all laws as prescribed by theState of Georgia regarding school councils. The academic team will meet with the school council no less than once per quarter. Members of the school council will have no legal authority over school matters or employees. The motivating factor that drives the decision making process for the Webster CountyBoard of Education is,“What is best for the students of Webster County?” Thirty-oneyears ago the answer to that question was to join Marion and Schley Counties in formingTri-County High School. The answer to that question has changed over time. A reviewof the current facts revealed that: students are forced to endure an hour and forty-fiveminute bus route; the citizens of Webster County have no representation on the governingboard that decides how their high school students are educated; the name of the High School was changed from Tri-County High School to Marion County High School givingno recognition to Webster County students; graduation data show that Webster Countystudents attending Marion County High School have over a 50% dropout rate; and byclosing the high school thirty-one years ago, the anchor that was the heart and soul of thecommunity was lost.Webster County continues to suffer as it did thirty-one years ago from the limitationsof being a low wealth county preventing the establishment of a traditional high school. Small high schools cost more up front, but there is no shortage of data showing that funding a completed education is much more cost-effective than dealing with poverty, unwanted pregnancies, crime, and unemployment that too often accompany life on the margins. Upon review of the data the Board chose to reframe their thinking from “cost per student‟ to „cost per graduate‟ and the cost to our community if the high drop out rate continues. When viewed from this perspective the Board found the current relationship was not fiscally or civically responsive to the needs of the students, community, state, and country. With the support and encouragement of the community the Board voted to repatriate our high school students.By taking advantage of our size, community support, and the flexibility offered bychartering we can improve the learning that goes on within and without our walls in terms of intellectual standards and the development of caring, competent, responsible citizens who value education as a lifelong process

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Why a Charter School?
Thirty-one years ago Marion, Schley, and Webster Counties, with assistance and financial support from the state, closed their local high schools and combined to form Tri-County High School located in Marion County. The fundamental question facing the three Boards of Education was the same then as it is today,“What is best for the students of our county?” It was not an easy decision to make, but each Board using the data at their disposal, decided that combining the three high schools was the right thing to do forthe students of each of the respective counties.Their decision along with financial assistance from the Georgia legislature started aconsolidation movement among low wealth districts throughout Southwest Georgia and other low wealth areas of the state. The rationale for this movement was „economics of scale.‟ By integrating small schools into to larger „comprehensive high schools‟ the Boards collectively could offer their high school students more course and career opportunities. Much has changed in education and in our community in the thirty-one years since the
Webster County Board of Education voted to close Webster County High School.Recent events prompted the Webster County Board of Education to re-examine theirposition on high school consolidation. As previously stated the underlying question,“What is best for the students of Webster County?” continues to drive the decisions of theBoard. A review of the facts revealed the following:*Students are forced to endure an hour and forty-five minute bus route from WebsterCounty to Marion County High School. In addition to the regular a.m. and p.m. routes the system must send one, often two buses to Marion County High School each day and holidays to pick up students engaged in extracurricular/after school activities.* Several years ago Schley County pulled out of Tri-County High School leaving only
Marion County and Webster County students attending Tri-County High School. In 2005 the Marion County Board of Education (the controlling BOE of Tri-County High School) voted to change the name of Tri-County High School to Marion County High School, giving no recognition to Webster County or its students. The school systems of Schley, Taliaferro,Quitman,Chattahooch ee,Clay and Baker Counties (counties who have repatriated their high schools students following consolidation) were the first to acknowledge that when you remove the high school from a small community like Webster County and send its students to be educated in another county, you take the very heart, soul and future out of the community as well. Data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows Webster County had a 3.9% decline in thepopulation between 2000 and 2005. The name change from Tri-County High School to Marion County High School brought this issue to the forefront and acted as a catalyst in uniting the Webster County community for the support of repatriating our high school students.*Changing of the name from Tri County High School to Marion County High School brought to light another issue long tolerated but never embraced by the Webster Countycommunity. The Webster County Board of Education Chairperson is required to attend Marion County Board of Education meetings for the combined high school, but has no

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voting authority thus giving the citizens of Webster County no representation on the governing board that decides how their high school students are educated.*Presently Webster County has 35 freshmen, 30 sophomores, 28 juniors and 17 seniors enrolled at Marion County High School. Reviews of graduation data show that WebsterCounty students attending Marion County High School have a dropout rate of nearly 50 percent. United States Census data shows that 61.3% of persons 25 and older in WebsterCounty are high school graduates, compared to 78.6% for the state of Georgia. The high drop out rate of Webster County High School students attending Marion County High School is unacceptable to the Webster County Board of Education.*Webster County continues to suffer as it did thirty-one years ago from the limitations of being a low wealth county. The latest census shows the per capita income for the countyis $14,772. About 17.20% of families and 19.30% of the population are below the poverty line, including 26.00% of those under age 18 and 19.40% of those age 65 or over. It is therefore imperative that the Board be accountable for the impact each tax dollar spent has on the education of the children of Webster County. Small high schools cost more up front, but there is no shortage of data showing that funding a completed education is much more cost-effective than dealing with poverty, unwanted pregnancies, crime, and unemployment that too often accompany life on the margins. Upon review of the data the Board chose to reframe their thinking from “cost per student‟ to „cost pergraduate‟ and the cost to our community if the high drop out rate continues. When viewed from this perspective the Board found the current relationship was not fiscally or civically responsive to the needs of the students, community, state, and country. The Webster County Board of Education directed their Superintendent to explore the possibility of educating our high school students in Webster County. Several meetings were held with state Department of Education people, RESA representatives, along with representatives from South Georgia Technical College and Georgia Southwestern University to discuss the logistics of bringing our high school back. At the conclusion ofthese meetings, the Webster County Board of Education, along with the Marion CountyBoard of Education, voted to terminate their existing contract for educating WebsterCounty‟s high school students and to enter into a contract to initiate a transfer of the responsibility of instruction for Webster County‟s high school students to WebsterCounty. Beginning with the 2007-2008 school year the Webster County Board ofEducation will take full responsibility for their 9thand 10thgrades, followed by the addition of the 11thgrade in 2008-2009 and the 12thgrade in 2009-2010. Regretfully the retirement of the Superintendent and sudden resignation of the curriculum director and subsequent searches to replace them significantly delayed the planning process.Though confronted with issues not uncommon to small low wealth districts around the state, the Webster County School System has a history of meeting the needs of itsstudents as measured on national, state, and local assessments. Evidence of this is our present K-8 school is a Title I School of Distinction having met No Child Left Behind AYP the last four years. As it did thirty-one years ago, our fiscal limitations due to smallstudent population resulting in less state funding and low tax wealth continues to be our greatest obstacle and prevents us from staffing and implementing programs in our high

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school that will meet Georgia Board of Education rule and regulations. The new leadership team in planning for the new high school chose to build upon the strengths of the system and to use research driven „out of the box‟ thinking with a „No excuses”attitude to stretch our limited resources to obtain our mission. By taking advantage of our size, community support, and the flexibility offered by chartering we can improve the learning that goes on within and without our walls in terms of intellectual standards and the development of caring, competent, responsible citizens who value education as a lifelong process.
“Begin with the End in Mind”
-Steven Covey
Presently our drop out rate is unacceptable and the spark that once brought thecommunity together has all but been extinguished. To begin with the end in mind is to begin with the image of the end as a frame of reference by which everything is measured. The most effective way to begin with the end in mind is to develop a mission statement. Our mission statement tells us who we are, what we are about, and what we value. From here we are able to use proactivity to establish vision and values which set the direction from which we set our goals. The mission of Webster County Charter High School will be to provide a quality education, thus empowering individuals to becomecaring, competent, responsible citizens who value education as a lifelong process. The principle of “Begin with the End in Mind” is that all things are created twice: a mental or first creation and a physical or second creation. This charter petition represents the first creation, our vision for the future of Webster County. The Webster County Board of Education began planning for the repatriation of the high school students back prior to January 2006. A new contract was entered into with Marion County that called for the students to be returned over a three-year period. Several public meetings were held to discuss the expectations of the public along with theresources and possible partnerships available. The system 5-year facility plan was rewritten and approved by the State Board of Education to add the high school to the existing building. The retirement of the superintendent and the unexpected resignation ofthe curriculum director and the lengthy process of replacing them that followed severelyhindered the planning process. The new leadership team came on board July 7, 2006 and was immediately faced with many transition issues that further delayed planning for thehigh school. The question then facing the leadership team is how to accomplish our mission. Webster County does not have the high school student population or fiscal resources to be a ”traditional high school”. How can we overcome our limitations to improve student achievement and at the same time fuel the flame of community pride? Though the process of repatriating our high school students began over a year ago, it was onlyrecently that we found the answer to that question in the flexibility to be academicallyand organizational innovative through a charter petition. In order to improve student achievement through academic and organizational innovations to reach the goals of our mission statement described in this charter petition, Webster County High School shall be exempt in whole from all local board of education and State Board of Education rules,

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policies, regulations and procedures and from provisions of Title 20 of the Official Codeof Georgia Annotated other than the Charter Schools Act of 1998 that are in conflict with provisions of this charter. Though we will utilize the flexibility a charter providesWebster County High School is willing to comply with all the requirements of the Single Statewide Accountability System.The Georgia Quality Core Curriculum (QCC) along with Georgia PerformanceStandards (GPS) phase in will be the foundation of the charter school curriculum. Thefundamentals of reading, writing and mathematics on grade level will be emphasized. The focus will be on the needs of the individual student. The faculty at Webster CountyHigh School will use current and past performances on state End of Course Tests(EOCT), Georgia High School Graduation Tests (GHSGT) and the Georgia WritingAssessment to aid in determining student needs in meeting his/her PASS. In addition thestaff will utilize TestGate resources to perform pre-post tests every nine weeks to determine individual student needs and to guide instruction. Our accountability will bemeasured as other High Schools in Georgia by Georgia State Board of Education requirements of the Georgia High School Graduation Tests,

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Georgia High School Writing Assessment, and End of Course Tests. Webster County High School will not waive theaccountability provisions of O.C.G.A. 20-14-30 through 20-14-41 and federal accountability requirements. Where we will differ is in our approach to meeting the expectation of the No Child Left Behind legislation, the Georgia State Board of Education, and our performance goals from that of a „traditional high school‟ in both serving the public good and accomplishing our schoolmission. Webster County High School will be a school where small class size and caringteachers overcome the obstacles to learning for each individual student (this includes the inclusion of students with disabilities in the regular programs of study). Like the practice of medicine, schooling is about relationships. The culture of the school will revolve around hard work, high aspirations, respect for others, and the expectation that all students will succeed. We want students to say „I am cared for,‟ ‟I am challenged,‟ „people are in my face,‟ and „I can‟t escape.‟ They are going to know that they are cared for and that their teachers are not going to let them get away with anything. The keystone of our charter will be our intent to fuse our school with our community.Com munity Service RequirementThe first stone of our charter‟s foundation will be the requirement of forty hours of community service for graduation. This requirement serves the community: through the completion of the various projects; it promotes public relations and awareness by gettingour high school students out into the community for the public to see performing theirprojects; and it is our hope that it will instill in our students an intrinsic need to give back to their community. The flexibility of a charter school will allow us to transport students during the school day to perform community projects such as, cleaning cemeteries, cleaning yards of elderly citizens, participating in habitat for humanity builds, reading to the elderly as well as elementary students and other community service projects. It is our hope that over time through this requirement we can arouse the pride, commitment, and very heart and soul of the community that has slowly eroded since the loss of the high school thirty-one years ago.

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Curricular Innovations If we are to be successful in breaking the circle of poverty that plagues ourcommunity, we must search for ways to make learning “fun” and pragmatic as we strive to instill an inherent desire to learn in our students. Our review of educational research has identified several innovative programs that have proven to increase student achievement and helped to connect students to their community. These include interdisciplinary curriculum, place-based education, and flexible scheduling. We believethat we can merge these innovations with each other to complement proven pedagogy to meet the needs of our students and our community. A brief description of thesesupplemental innovations to our QCC/GPS Curriculum follows: Interdisciplinary curriculum-a curriculum organization which cuts across subject-matterlines to focus upon comprehensive life problems or broad based areas of study that brings together the various segments of the curriculum into meaningful association. It forces teachers to collaborate with other teachers to see what their students are learning in other classes as well as the methods and styles their colleagues apply (this is also a vital part of forming a learning community). Interdisciplinary units reflect the uniqueness of the school and its teachers. By capitalizing on its own history, geography, social mix, and creative potential of our school we can celebrate the individual character of our community. An example of this in our situation might include the Science, Agriculture, and History teachers explaining the cause and effect of erosion from a scienceperspective of the what and why, from the agriculture perspective of how farmingmethods contributed and how farming has changed to prevent erosion, to the historical perspective of how farming methods of the past affected our environment and economyall followed up by interviews of older citizens and farmers and a field trip to the little Grand Canyon, West Ville or the Georgia Agrirama. Place-based education, is a relatively new term, appearing only recently in the education literature, however progressive educators have promoted the concept for more than 100 years. Place-based education has been referred to as “Pedagogy of place”, teaching that takes place outside the restraints of classroom walls with in the community. It is the useof the local environment, on and/or near the school site as a comprehensive framework for learning in all areas: general and disciplinary knowledge; thinking and problem solving; basic life skills and interpersonal communication; as well as developing an appreciation and understanding of natural and social systems. Place-based education is inherently multidisciplinary and experimental. Research has shown that curriculum that uses the local environment as an integrating context for learning encompasses several proven educational practices, including: Interdisciplinary integration of subject matter, Collaborative instruction, Emphasis on real-world, problem-based learning, Learner-centered, constructivist methods and combinations of independent and cooperativelearning. As we prepare to repatriate our high school students it will play a vital role in helping to reconnect our students to our community. Place-based education connects place with self and community. The curriculum will include multigenerational and multicultural dimensions as they interface with community resources. Our communityservice requirement ties in well with our requirement of community service. As JaniceWoodhouse pointed out in her article listed in the Eric Clearinghouse on Rural Education

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and Small Schools, one of the most compelling reasons to adopt place-based education is to provide students with the knowledge and experiences needed to actively participate in the democratic process. One of the greatest examples of place-based education is that ofthe students of the Rabun Gap school as they explored their Appalachian heritageresulting in the Fox Fire books.
Flexible Scheduling- In education, there is no one best way to do any thing. There arecompelling reasons why some courses should be taught in longer segments of time. Thereare compelling reasons why some classes should be taught in shorter segments. There is also no compelling reason why a subject should be taught daily. Flexible scheduling is defined as creative use of the time in the school day in an attempt to match theinstructional needs of students. Flexible scheduling will allow us to optimize time, space, staff, and facilities and to add variety to their curriculum offerings and teachingstrategies. While the flexibility of the school schedule is limited only by the creativity of the teachers, examples of potential schedules are provided later in this petition. Research has shown that increased flexibility in scheduling has been linked to a decrease in disciplinary problems and an increase in collaboration among teachers. Some examples we might use would be to have a one 90 min block math class lasting on semester to givestudents returning from Marion County with no math credits an opportunity to “catch up”and the rest of the day the same student would be in a 50 min. class taking other subjects. Another example might be that the Science teacher is doing a time consuming lab orPlace Based project and needs additional instructional time and the teachers get together and adjust the schedule to give the Science teacher the time needed.The possibilities for this type of instruction in our rich historical and ecological area is exciting and will only be limited by the creativity of our instructional staff. The planners of this charter petition realize that to successfully implement these supplemental innovations will require extensive planning and research on the part of our instructors. To allow for this planning the daily schedule for teachers extends 45 minutes beyond the time students leave, several early release days were built into the calendar and all efforts will be made to build common planning time into the daily academic schedule

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Other Programs we intend to incorporate in our academic program are:
Gainesville City Model- through the use of Test-Gate technology we will implement a pre-post test and benchmarking program to assist in differentiating instruction.
Technology-Technology will be the keystone to our charter school. Through the use of Nova-net, Georgia Virtual High School, Test-Gate, Accelerated Reading, and otherprograms we will be able to maximize our teaching resources. For example a math teacher through the use of computers could effectively provide instruction to students working on Algebra I, II, Geometry, Trigonometry and Calculus in the same room at the same time. Peer Tutoring-using the above example; upper level math students could help the teacher tutor the lower level math students.
Mentoring-the use of individuals who through formal training or on the job experiencehave acquired skills that they are willing to share their knowledge with students to prepare them for career entry positions upon graduation or to provide exposure to aide in career choices. Collaboration with Georgia Southwestern University and South Georgia Technical College-teaming with these institutions to provide expanded educational opportunities forour students.
while website of School system
was www.webster.k12.ga.us is name changed to www.webstereagles.net .

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Path to Academic and Social Success (PASS)Each student upon entering Webster County High School will be assigned an advisor who will remain with that student through out his/her high school career. The student along with his/her parents and the advisor will establish a Path to Academic and Social Success (PASS) plan. Based on the student‟s interests and goals, the PASS will target academic courses and timeframes for completion. The students will monitor their own progress utilizing advisors‟ assistance and parental input. The PASS will be reviewed at the end of each grading period. Initially each student will have three paths to choosefrom: traditional college and technical prep programs, accelerated college/technical programs, and career program. Students who experience academic or social problems will have a fourth path of a Rebound or Alternative program to assist them in returning to their original path. In essence through the four paths, Webster County High School will operate “Four Schools in One.” These four paths are: Traditional Path- The traditional path will be the high school that most people associate with high schools today. The traditional school will operate a minimum of seven hours per day with one hundred and eighty days per school term. These students will also have the opportunity to participate in other programs and or schools available to Webster County students.Accelerated Path-The accelerated path provides training in a wide variety of technical and post secondary classes for students. This will be accomplished through jointenrollment programs between the Webster County Schools, South GeorgiaTechnical College and Georgia Southwestern University.Career Path-Students who chose this path plan to go directly into the work forcefollowing graduation. Their PASS will include elements specific to their career interests. The program will incorporate internships, mentor, work place ethics, and real work programs.Rebound, Alternative Path-Students following the rebound or alternative path will work on Novanet, a comprehensive e-learning system that, through teacherguidance, allows students to work at their own pace to complete the necessarycourse work for both middle and high school. Novanet is a comprehensive e-learning system revolutionizing the relationship between students, teachers, and technology. The rebound path is for those students who find themselves behind academicallyand gives them a second chance at academic success. The intent of the rebound path is that of a temporary detour from the student‟s original path.

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Page 14
8The alternative path will be a unique educational setting that provides options foran individual wanting to earn a high school diploma, having limited success in the regulareducational setting. Students eligible for this program have difficulty adapting to thetraditional school, who are at risk based on poor attendance and/or academicperformance, and those who are placed there by due process. The alternative school will be designed to accommodate special education students by having a qualified special education teacher to provide services for any students with an IEP. Academic and vocationally oriented programs, including student management and social development, will be provided through an individualized, student-centered approach. Programs will be attentive to the needs of a career-oriented curriculum and will be sensitive to the variety of learning styles among students. Students will participate in programs where they can practice skills learned and be ready to enter thejob market upon graduation.The alternative path will also through a partnership with South Georgia Technical College offer GED preparatory classes for those at least 16 years of age or are beyond the compulsory high school attendance under state law with an opportunity to earn a high school equivalency diploma. The GED tests can be administered only to persons who arenot currently enrolled in a regular high school.We will have many challenges that make the development of our school exciting. Through a charter we can turn our small size into our greatest asset. The broad flexibilityof a charter will allow us to explore research-based innovations to achieve and exceed state standards and increase our graduation rate. A charter will allow us to bring the heart and soul back to Webster County. To meet these challenges and to accomplish our stated goals we request that the Webster County Board of Education be approved and fullyfunded for a Charter High School beginning with the 2007-2008 school year
While Other Chattahoochee-Flint RESA's School unit is Phase out a High School from other county are:
while Quitman County Board of Education is Get back to High School, end class of 2009.when Quitman County was Pulled out of Stewart-Quitman High School soon-to-be changed name back to Stewart County High School .to constructed its own High School for 2009-10 School term .at presently New Quitman County Elementary/Middle School Building like WCHS .Quitman decided to have Basketball, Baseball,Volleyball and more.

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Parent and community involvement
Changing the name from Tri-County High School to Marion County High School served as the catalyst for the community push for the Board to reexamine its position on school consolidation. Several public meetings with representatives for the StateDepartment of Education Facilities Department, Chattahoogee/Flint RESA, South Georgia Technical College, and other agencies were held to discuss the issues of bringingthe high school students back to Webster County. With the support of the data and the community the Board of Education voted early in 2006 to repatriate the high school students. Unfortunately the retirement of the superintendent and the unexpected resignation of the curriculum director and subsequent searches to replace them, significantly delayed the planning process. The new leadership team met with students, parents, staff, and members of the community to gauge their expectations for the new high school. The leadership team then took this information, combined with the vision ofthe Board and searched for proven research based ways of overcoming the limitingfactors that prevent Webster County from supporting a “traditional high school.” This charter is the result of this research and meets the expectations for Webster County High School as expressed by the students, parents, community members, and the Webster County Board of Education

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Parents, guardians, community members will be involved in the school through the Parent Teacher Organization (PTO), academic and athletic booster clubs, tutors, volunteers, and mentors. They will work along side the faculty to help ensure that: All Webster County students are engaged in the learning processIn-class performance is enhancedPro-social skills are developed thereby decreasing antisocial behaviorsAttendance at school is increased and the drop-out rate is reducedStandardized test scores are improvedStudents are actively engaged in academic pursuits and school activitiesSocial skills are enhanced thereby maximizing students‟ chances of life success A positive working relationship is developed with students, families, and community.Service Projects that benefit the poor, elderly, homeless, and the community as a whole are identified and completed

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Extracurricular activity sponsors and lay coaches Webster County High School will be under the control and management of theWebster County Board of Education consistent with this charter and the Georgia Constitution. The Webster County Board of Education takes full responsibility for thehiring, evaluation, and if necessary termination of all employees of Webster County High School. Webster County High School will serve as the only high school in the WebsterCounty School district and will accept all students who reside in Webster County. Anystudent who resides out of the county who wishes to enroll will be required to pay tuition and comply with Webster County School Board policies concerning enrollment of Nonresident Students.(Board policies can be found on the system website at www.webstereagles.net )The school council of Webster County High School will serve as the governing board. The council will consist of the principal, two parents, two teachers, and two business leaders from the community. The council will abide by all laws as prescribed by theState of Georgia regarding school councils. The academic team will meet with the school council no less than once per quarter to discuss accomplishments towards upholding the mission and vision for Webster County High School. Members of the school council willhave no legal authority over school matters, including resolving student/parent/teacher grievances (Board policy regarding teacher grievances can be found on the system web site at www.webstereagles.net

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Programs of Study
Webster County High School will offer graduation credentials based on the students PASS. Credentials to be awarded include College Preparatory, College Preparatory with Distinction, Technology/Career-preparatory and Technology/Career-preparatory with Distinction, General Education Diploma. In addition a Special Education Diploma or Graduation Certificate will be presented to those students who fail to achieve graduation credentials and meet therequirements set forth by 160-4-2-.47.
Earning Credit
Students can earn half a Carnegie Unit per semester per year-long class upon successfully meeting attendance and grade requirements. If a student fails one semester but passes another, he/she only re-takes the semester failed, not a full year of thecourse. If the combined average of both semesters meets a passing grade, the student will be awarded on full Carnie Unit. One unit is awarded for successfully passing each semester block course . A course shall county only once for satisfyingany unit of credit requirement for graduation. It is the student‟s responsibility not to repeat a course already passed. If this occurs, no credit will be awarded for thecourse.
Unit credit will be awarded for completion of courses with a passing grade. Unit creditwill be awarded for courses offered in middle grades that meet 9-12 QCC/GPSrequirements. The Individualized Education Program (IEP) shall specify whethercore courses taken as part of an IEP shall receive core unit credit

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Students entering from other school districts and out of state schools shall haveconsiderations written into their PASS to transfer credits.
Course Requirements for Graduation
Core *CP CP+TC TC+
English/LanguageArts* 4 4 4 4
Mathematics* 4 4 3 3
Science* 3 3 3 3
Social Studies* 3 3 3 3
Health and
Physical Education 1 1 1 1
Foreign Language 2 2 0 0
Computer Technology 1 1 1 1 Technology/Career Core 0 0 4 4 Electives 4 4 3 4
Additional Core Electives 0 2 0 1
Total Units (Minimum) 22 24 22 24
All students must pass the Georgia High School Graduation Test and complete courserequirements in order to receive a diploma and seal. The Georgia High School Graduation test consists of five sections: writing, language arts, math, social science, and science.In subjects that have Georgia End-of-Course Tests, the test will count as the final and count 15% of the final average for the course.**Community Service Requirement for all credentials for graduation is a minimum of 40 hours. Total hours of Community Service performed will be listed on the students transcript. Classification of Students9th grade -- promotion from 8th grade 10th grade -- 5 units 11th grade -- 10 units 12th grade --15 units Graduation 22 units minimum

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Grading System
A = 90 -100 B=80 - 89 C=70 - 79 F = Below 70
Course Weights for grade point average (GPA)Weighted grades are used by the Webster County Board of Education for the solepurpose of computing weighted grade point averages to determine honorgraduates. Points are added to the grades recorded on the transcript only. Theyare not added to the grades reported on the report card. Points are not added unless a student passes a course. For example, if a student has a final grade of 68 in an AP class, he would fail the class. He would not receive a grade of 78.Advanced Placement (AP) Classes = 10 points added to the final grade averageAdvanced or Gifted Academic Courses = 5 points added to the final grade averageAll other high school courses = no point adjustment to the final grade averagePost Secondary Options (PSO) Credit is awarded for completion of post-secondary classes that meet high school graduation requirements.Excessive absences credit recoveryA school-wide program will be designed for students who lose course credit because of excessive absences. Students will be provided the opportunity to come afterschool for two weeks to regain their "seat time" through the use of the NovaNet Credit Recovery Program. All academic courses are online and meet Georgia QCC/GPS objectives