Green Dot, based in L.A., plans to open schools in other states
Green Dot Public Schools, a locally based group of charter campuses, announced this week it has set up a national organization to manage expansion into Tennessee and Washington.
Charters are free public schools operated independently of local districts and exempt from many rules that govern traditional campuses. Green Dot has been one of the best known local charter organizations and one of the larger ones in the country, with 21 schools, 11,000 students and a $130-million budget.
The new Memphis charters will accept all students from the local attendance areas, essentially replacing the former neighborhood schools.
This approach is different from most charters, which enroll any interested students regardless of where they live and hold a lottery when they are oversubscribed.
Green Dot pioneered the neighborhood model at Locke High in Los Angeles, then used a similar format at Clay Middle and Jordan High. All are within the L.A. Unified School District.
In Memphis, Green Dot will take over as many as five middle schools and five high schools.
The first Tennessee campus will open in the fall, as part of the state’s Achievement School District, which is overseeing a turnaround effort at the lowest performing 5% of schools. Another California-based charter group, Aspire, is moving into Memphis, as well, along with the national KIPP organization. Both Aspire and KIPP already have charters in L.A.
In Washington state, Green Dot will have to find campus space and recruit students in competition with existing schools. Until this year, the state had not allowed charters. Green Dot plans to open its first Washington campus, in Tacoma, in the fall of 2015.
Green Dot’s start-up costs in Tennessee are subsidized by local foundations. In Washington, a major funding source is the Gates Foundation, which is based in Seattle.
The charter group is known for encouraging its teachers to form a union, a rare practice in such schools. But the rules in Tennessee won’t allow traditional collective bargaining, said chief executive Marco Petruzzi.
“We’re going to do our best to create very similar conditions in terms of making sure Green Dot, based in L.A., plans to open schools in other states - Los Angeles Times: