Chatt Hills Charter School Needs Your Help TODAY!

Friends of CHCS,

Chattahoochee Hills Charter School needs your help TODAY: attending a meeting and a quick email could be the critical difference between an August 2011 opening and a denied petition. The Fulton County School Board will vote on our charter petition on April 22^nd and we have just learned that ALL of the proposed Fulton County charter schools have been recommended for denial by an internal raters committee.

We are obviously shocked and dismayed by this recent information but believe we need to look at this adversity as an incredible opportunity to show the Fulton County School Board what the raters are missing and let them know loud and clear why CHCS should be approved!!

The school board will vote next Thursday evening, April 22^nd and we need to take this opportunity to show them who we are. It is imperative that we converge on the school board in the next week by showing full attendance and support at their community board meetings.

Although many reasons come to mind as to why this has happened, including the tough economic environment, we still have a real opportunity to get approval from the school board next week. BUT we cant do this without all of your support and attendance at next week's school board meetings.

We are asking that everyone sign up for at least one of the board members community meetings by emailing or calling Monica Olsen, monica.olsen@chatthillcharter.org or 770.463.1841, with your name, phone number and email so we can confirm your attendance the night before. And please put the April 22^nd board meeting on your calendar!

Here is a listing of all the meetings next Monday and Tuesday by date/time with location and board member. Also noted is the CHCS project lead for the meeting, please seek them out at your community meeting so we can show a unified group. Chattahoochee Hills is located in District 4 with Linda Bryant as our local board member, but all seven members will vote on the CHCS petition and we need at least four votes to win approval.

4/19/2010 9:30 a.m. Woodland Elementary Charter

CHCS: Jon Neiditz

Julia Bernath, District 7

4/19/2010 6:30 p.m. McClarin High School

CHCS: Willy Lovett

Linda Bryant, District 4

4/19/2010 6:30 p.m. Banneker High School

CHCS: Jon Neiditz

Catherine Maddox, District 6

4/20/2010 9:30 a.m. Teaching Museum North

CHCS: Steve Nygren

Linda Schultz, District 1

4/20/2010 9:30 a.m. Manning Oaks Elementary School

CHCS: Russ Kiefer

Katie Reeves, District 2

4/20/2010 9:30 a.m. Riverwood Intl Charter School

CHCS: Monica Olsen

Gail Dean, District 3

4/20/2010 1 p.m. Chattahoochee High School

CHCS: Jon Neiditz

Ashley Widener, District 5

4/22/10 6:30 pm School Board Meeting & Vote on Charter Petitions

Dunwoody Springs Charter School

8100 Roberts Drive

Springs, Georgia

More information about the board members and their districts can be found here:https://portal.fultonschools.org/School_Board/Pages/Board_Members.aspx

If you unable to attend, you can also show your support by emailing all the board members and letting them know you support CHCS and asking them for a Yes Vote:

District 1 Linda Schultz schultzl@fultonschools.org

District 2 Katie Reeves reevesk@fultonschools.org

District 3 Gail Dean deang@fultonschools.org

District 4 Linda Bryant bryantlp@fultonschools.org

District 5 Ashley Widener widenera@fultonschools.org

District 6 Catherine Maddox maddoxc@fultonschools.org

District 7 Julia Bernath bernath@fultonschools.org

Again sign up and if you have any questions please email or call Monica Olsen at monica.olsen@chatthillscharter.org or 770.463.1841

Thanks for you help and continuing support! We can make this happen!

The CHCS Project Team

To celebrate the petition being finished and turned in, the project team hosted a pot luck. Despite the fierce wind and cool weather, there were a lot of excited families that attended. The kids weren't bothered by how cold it was, they were ready to jump on the trampoline and play corn hole. The food was great, some of the favorites were corn pudding, broccoli slaw, upside down pineapple cake and the chocolate rice krispy treats. We're all excited about the spring weather and look forward to many more charter school get togethers!

We have submitted our petition!!!

Russ Kiefer hand delivered the 400+ page petition to Fulton County Schools on Weds, Feb 24. It included over 73,300 words, 4,500 paragraphs and weighed in at 6 lb. 2 oz.!!! Check out the CHCS Facebook page at www.facebook.com/chatthillscharterschool and read the petition to learn all about the proposed CHCS at http://tiny.cc/3O4E3.

We want to thank everyone who worked so hard these past months. We want to specifically highlight the efforts of our incredible project team lead by super-star John Reid, now officially the CHCS Governing Board Chairman. Integral to researching, creating and completing the charter petition were the many project team leaders including Russ Kiefer, Lindsey Mosby, Rebecca Williams, Ross Williams, Lisa Babb, Chip Kohlweiler, Jon Neiditz, Monica Olsen, Steve Hurwitz, Steve Nygren, Laurie Searle, Jennifer Ripper and Christina Purdue. This is only a small fraction of the dozens of people who helped out, putting in tireless hours and giving selflessly of themselves to this heroic effort petitioning for the proposed new charter school for the families of Chattahoochee Hills and South Fulton.

This is only the beginning of our journey together, as the petition is the 2^nd major milestone to building the proposed CHCS. We are still waiting on pins and needles to hear in March about the GA DOE’s final decision on our Planning Grant Application. Stay tuned!

In the meantime, the project team invites you to join us for a celebratory potluck this Saturday at 4 pm in the community of Serenbe at the Grange trampoline. Beer provided, bring a dish to share, your own picnic supplies and any other beverages you would like.

A big thank-you to everyone who worked with and supported us through these past months!

Hope to see you Saturday!!

The CHCS Project Team

www.chatthillscharterschool.blogspot.com

www.facebook.com/chatthillscharterschool