• GO Teams

     

    What is the GO Team?
    All school systems in the State of Georgia were required in 2016 to select a new operating model. As a result, beginning July 1, 2016, Atlanta Public Schools became a Charter System. At that time, Local School Councils were replaced with Local School Governance Teams or "GO Teams", and now have a more defined structure and decision-making authority. The GO Team is a school-level council with the power to make certain kinds of decisions for their school, including researching and drafting a Strategic Plan for the school, creating priorities for, reviewing and approving the school budget for the upcoming school Financial Year, and providing input on school and district ideas. Each school GO Team has specific duties and responsibilities, as well as intended benefits, as defined and designated by APS, and each GO Team member must attend both online and in-person GO Team training. Click here for a list of FAQs about APS GO Teams, and here for the 2018-19 APS GO Team Handbook. Click here to discover information about APS GO Teams, including the 2015-2020 APS Strategic Plan, as well as information about our APS Charter system, individual schools' GO Teams, and Cluster Plans for each APS Cluster. 
     
    Each APS school's GO Team has the authority to fulfill the following responsibilities: (a) Approve the school strategic plan and updates and monitor its implementation; (b) Develop innovative ideas for school-level flexibility through the School-Based Solutions process; (c) Provide input into school-based curriculum selection and accompanying instructional materials; (d) Give feedback on and approve the annual school budget recommendations; (e) Make suggestions regarding school operations decisions that support the school strategic plan; (f) Participate in the selection of a new principal, in the case of a vacancy; and (g) Offer annual feedback on principal performance to the Associate Superintendent. The GO Team is also responsible for the following duties: (a) Communicate GO Team work to stakeholders, including students, parents, community members, faculty, and staff; (b) Participate in an annual assessment of the GO Team’s performance and results; (c) Meet a minimum of six times each fiscal/school year (July 1 - June 30), beginning July 1, 2016; and (d) Abide by state Open Meetings and Open Records laws
      
    GO Team Membership
    Each GO Team has the following membership structure: (a) Three (3) parents/legal guardians elected by the parents/legal guardians of the school; (b) Three (3) non-supervisory instructional staff elected by the full-time employees of the school; (c) Two (2) community members nominated by the principal and approved by the voting GO Team members. Full-time Atlanta Public Schools employees are not eligible to serve in community member seats on GO Teams. There will be no exceptions; (d) One (1) Swing Seat member nominated by the principal or the elected GO Team members and approved by the remaining voting GO Team members. Swing Seat nominations may be teachers, instructional support staff members, parents, business partners, and general interest community members; (e) One (1) student appointed by the principal based upon input from the team (voting on the school strategic plan and school-based solutions only; at high schools only); (f) The principal serves as an ex-officio (non-voting) member of the GO Team; and (g) For schools with multiple campuses or student enrollment over 1,200 students, an Assistant Principal or Program Administrator may serve as an additional ex-officio (non-voting) member of the team.