Agenda Item
f. Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the Acceleration Academies and the DeKalb County School District (Not to exceed $2,766,800)
Summary: Presented by: Ms. Stacy E. Stepney, Chief Academic Officer, Curriculum and Instruction
Request: It is requested that the Board of Education approve the Memorandum of Agreement between the Acceleration Academies and the DeKalb County School District to serve up to 200 students in an amount not to exceed $2,766,800.
Why: The DeKalb County School District’s Strategic Plan Goal Area I Student Success with Equity and Access prioritizes graduating students who are ready to thrive in college, career, military, and life. DCSD is committed to students who have historically been underserved in the traditional public education system by providing the instructional support and services they need. Through a partnership with Acceleration Academies, students will benefit from a flexible, non-traditional approach to earning their high school diploma and/or vocational certification.
Details: Acceleration Academies will open a physical Academy site to serve students 16-21 years of age during the first year. These students will be identified via recruitment efforts of currently withdrawn students as well as direct referrals of active but credit deficient, at-risk students by their principals or guidance counselors. Acceleration Academies will support as many students as possible; therefore, the Enrollment Marketing Team will utilize a multitude of marketing techniques to find, inform, recruit, and retain students.
Financial impact: The method of compensation in this MOA will be payments in an amount not to exceed $2,766,800.00 to be paid to Acceleration Academies in accordance with the Memorandum of Agreement.
Students enrolled during the state count period will generate per pupil funding for the District. For every eligible student enrolled in the program, Acceleration Academies will bill the District a base of $600 per month for each student plus applicable supplemental funding for special education and ESOL services. Last year, the DeKalb County School District spent $13,834 per student.
Contact: Ms. Stacy E. Stepney, Chief Academic Officer, Division of Curriculum and Instruction, 678.676.0731
Dr. Sean R. Tartt, Deputy Chief Academic Officer, Division of Curriculum and Instruction, 678.676.0731
Effective: Upon Board Approval
Status: Reviewed and Approved by General Counsel
We are the Nation’s
Leading Provider
of Flexible Education
MAKING AN IMPACT
Acceleration Academies partners with school districts to help young adults not experiencing success in a traditional
high school setting earn their high school diploma. Our tuition-free, Cognia-accredited program provides in-person
support and a web-based curriculum, flexible scheduling, personalized learning plans, and career/life coaching to
help students overcome real-life challenges that impede their success.
3,416 5,507+ 90,878+
Graduates Graduation Candidates Courses
To-Date Currently Enrolled Completed
We’ve generated more than $8.8 Million in funding for our district partners!
IMPACTING DISTRICTS IMPACTING STUDENTS
“I've been a Superintendent for 22 years, in two “I didn’t care about my education. I felt bored all the
different states, and during that time there are only time, so I dropped out.” However, at Acceleration
two different programs that I've come across that I Academies, the blend of in-person support and a
would actually recommend. Acceleration Academies flexible, one-course-at-a-time blended curriculum
is one of them. They get the job done, they do lit a fire under his high school journey. “Finally, I was
exactly what they say they're going to do, and they excited to be at school again. I decided to come back
do it with the highest degree of professionalism." and give myself another chance — and here I am
about to graduate.”
- Tom Seigel, Superintendent, Bethel School District
- Antony Spence, Graduation Candidate
Acceleration Academies currently partners with these school districts, operating in 21 locations and 8 states:
Los Angeles Unified School District (CA) Bethel School District (WA) Marion County Public Schools (FL)
Miami-Dade County Public Schools (FL) Franklin Pierce School District (WA) St. Lucie County Public Schools (FL)
Clark County School District (NV) So. Carolina Public Charter School District (SC) Escambia County School District (FL)
Gwinnett County Public Schools (GA) Charleston County School District (SC) Horry County Schools (SC)
The School District of Lee County (FL) Berkeley County School District (SC) Ector County Independent School District (TX)
Dorchester School District 2 (SC) Sarasota County Schools (FL)
Wichita Public Schools (KS)
FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT ACCELERATIONACADEMIES.ORG
OR EMAIL MARK GRAVES AT MGRAVES@ACCELERATIONACADEMY.ORG
4.29.2024
What makes our
program different?
WRAP-AROUND
VIGOROUS RECRUITMENT SUPPORT SYSTEM
TO RE-ENGAGE
• We call our students “Graduation Candidates”
• We actively seek to re-engage at-risk students and (GCs) to remind them every day of the reason they
those who have abandoned education; we don’t wait for are working so hard.
them to come to us. • Our educators, life and career coaches and
• Working from a district’s ‘Did Not Enroll’ list, we Graduation Candidate Advocates provide a wrap-
use phone calls, texts, home visits, digital media, and around support system to remove barriers that
mailers to inform students and their families about the have caused GCs to struggle in a traditional setting.
opportunity to earn their diploma. • Students take one course at a time, learning at
their own pace with tutoring and encouragement
from staff members at every step.
PERSONALIZED PROPRIETARY PLATFORM
LEARNING PLANS AND COURSES
• Many young learners enter our academies with • We use state-of-the-art technology to support
academic and non-academic challenges including teaching and learning in our academies.
learning differences, social/emotional difficulties, and • GCs can access all of their courses, track their
family and work obligations that make it hard for them to progression to graduation, and communicate with
maintain traditional school hours. Academy staff in one convenient, user-friendly
• Our proprietary Graduation Persistence Index allows us interface.
to assess non-academic factors known to impact student • The courses we use are specifically designed for
success, providing an important guide for customizing our student demographic and for credit recovery,
each student’s learning plan. so content is relatable and provides the opportunity
for GCs to quickly progress through modules for
which they can demonstrate mastery.
ACADEMIC
POST-GRADUATION
ACCOUNTABILITY PATHWAYS
We take our commitment to GCs and school districts
seriously, holding ourselves accountable with: • We recognize that our GCs learn skills, training
and certifications to set them up for success.
• Performance Management Conferences. We track daily
• We believe that career and technical education
metrics to ensure that our GCs are meeting expectations. is the perfect compliment to academic learning
Academy and network leaders meet weekly to because it provides an opportunity to practice and
monitor students’ academic engagement and course acquire real-world skills.
completions and provide ongoing staff support. • Upon entry into our program, GCs take a career
• Student engagement expectations. GCs are expected to interest survey so we can begin mapping out their
spend at least 24 hours each week engaged in learning, career and education plan to meet graduation
and our Academies staff members support them each requirements, earn college credits and industry
day in owning their success. Our proprietary software certifications to ensure college and career readiness
enables them to track their progress on phones and prior to the important milestone of graduation.
other devices.
Follow us on social media @accelerationacademies in
Your partner in
re-engaging students
HOW WE’RE DIFFERENT
• Personalized learning plans NATIONALLY ACCREDITED
• Flexible hours
BY COGNIA
• Students take one class at a time Our graduation candidates
enjoy peace of mind knowing
• Career planning and life coaching
their diploma and credits come
• Graduation Advocates provide 1:1
from an accredited program.
support
• Year-round, open enrollment
• Credit recovery programs
WHO WE SERVE
• Parents of young
children
• Young adults
INSIDE OUR ACADEMY
working to
• Each academy is set up support their
with an open concept parents, siblings, and
layout with a coffee shop others
vibe. • Immigrants and others new to the
• Students can enjoy working district
in groups from the comfort • Learners who struggle in a
of our upholstered chairs or at conventional school setting
community workspace tables. • Young adults who are managing
• We even have a café filled with nutritious medical conditions
food and snacks! • Students who have experienced
bullying, racism, and other
difficulties
• Students in foster care
ACADEMIC SUPPORT
• Students work at their own pace
CAREER & LIFE COACHES
with 1:1 teaching, encouragement
Help students identify and pursue
and support from “Content
a successful path after graduation,
Coaches.”
including internships, military,
• Social and emotional support
skilled trades, well-paying jobs.
from “Graduation Advocates”
helps students persist through
life’s challenges.
Follow us on social media @accelerationacademies in