Imagine Main Street Academy – A Charter School

Planning For A New Southside School
Imagine Main Street Academy
A Charter School
Do you feel we need more schooling options in our area? Have you ever known a neighbor in
College Park, East Point or Hapeville who decided to move away because they had kids and were
unsatisfied with the schooling options?
If you answered yes to either of these questions, here is your chance to get involved and
address those issues. A large and growing group of parents and other citizens in our area feels strongly
that we need an alternative to the present local schooling options. To address that, we are seeking to
start a charter school to serve our area. And we need your help!
What are charter schools? Charter schools are independent public schools that are open to all
students, regardless of income, gender, race or religion. They exist under a contract with an
authoritative public body, such as a state or local school board, that holds the charter school
accountable for results. Charter schools run independently of traditional school districts, yet since they
are public schools they are funded by taxpayer money, not tuition. Visit www.publiccharters.org for
more background on charter schools.
Imagine Main Street Academy: A Charter School will be a small-to-medium-sized,
community-based charter school specifically formed to serve our diverse and growing population. The
school would be kindergarten through fifth grade initially, and would primarily serve the College Park,
East Point and Hapeville area. We envision a program focused on high student achievement, with a
wide-ranging curriculum solidly based in reading and math. The curriculum could also include elements
that many of us remember fondly from our childhood – art, foreign language, music, science, and
physical education, all taught on a regular basis. We will follow an International Baccaleureate (IB)
curriculum, with a special focus on Spanish. See www.ibo.org for more information on IB.
We have initiated discussions with Imagine Schools (www.imagineschools.com), a company
that works with communities to develop charter schools. The current plan is to have a charter school up
and running by Fall 2009, with Imagine Schools’ help. We will submit our application to the Fulton
County Board of Education in February 2008.
Our biggest need currently is to spread the word, and get letters of support from businesses,
churches, synagogues and other spiritual instutitions, political leaders, and families. Please contact
Carol Shaginaw at the email address below for information on how to get those letters to her.
• Contact: Carol Shaginaw
email: carolshaginaw@comcast.net
• Website: www.themainstreetacademy.com
• Next public meeting: Thursday, November 15. 2007
7:00 p.m.
College Park First United Methodist Church
www.collegeparkfirst.org
• Who should attend: Parents and other concerned citizens in the
East Point/College Park/Hapeville area
• Please sign this petition
for a charter school: http://imaginegeorgia.com/ImagineMainStreet.html
• Please get letters of support from businesses, churches, synagogues and other
spiritual instutitions, political leaders, and families. Forward them to Carol Shaginaw.

Main Street Academy Nov. 15th meeting