Lieutenant Governor Casey Cagle hosted the 3rd Annual Charter System Foundation Awards Luncheon, highlighting the numerous achievements of Georgia Charter Systems. Madison County School System received the Charter System Leadership Award and was awarded a $10,000 grant to further enhance their reforms.

“All across Georgia students are reaping the benefits of our Charter System model and their commitment to innovative education policies,” said Lt. Governor Casey Cagle. “Madison County has actively removed barriers for student success so every student can thrive in the classroom. They continue to embrace reforms proven successful in increasing student achievement system wide and I congratulate them on this deserving honor.”

The Leadership Award recognizes the system that demonstrates instructional innovations at the classroom, school house, or system-wide level with a focus on initiative-driven leadership impacting their academic and community environments.

“This award represents years of hard work and dedication by Madison County parents, educators and administrators to provide a truly innovative learning experience for each student in their system,” said Sen. Frank Ginn. “I’m deeply appreciative of Lt. Governor Casey Cagle’s leadership with Georgia’s Charter Systems and its impact on our community. I know our educators will continue to expand the reach of their resources to increase student achievement across the board.”

Madison County serves their students “by need, not label” at the elementary level.  They select, serve, and monitor students in groups based on real-time data rather than on state guidelines.  In addition, charter flexibility allows Madison to offer Carnegie unit credits for students engaging in real-world learning experiences at the secondary level.  They embrace flexibility to provide instruction—through innovative grouping and internships—which has increased achievement, engagement, and motivation.

Madison School System, along with every other state approved Charter System, outperforms its traditional public school counterpart in every academic milestone. Of Georgia’s 180 school systems, 42 have been approved as Charter Systems by the State Board of Education.