Q&A from Muscogee County School District forums on Camelot Education proposal

Superintendent David Lewis has proposed that the Muscogee County School District hire a private company Camelot Education of Austin, Texas to run alternative education programs in the district.

The administration gives its reasons why and has released the results of public forums on the issue.

Q. Why do we need Camelot?

A. Camelot Education, LLC has over a decade of experience operating all three types of programs with some of the most aggressive students in some of the roughest areas of the country. The strength and consistency of their model were evident when observed in eight different locations by the district administration over the past eighteen months.

Camelot’s behavior management model centers around an active and intentional positive peer culture implemented through a system of positive recognition with interrelated levels of student “status.”

Camelot’s normative culture aligns with the Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports (PBIS) framework. MCSD is currently implementing PBIS in 28 schools. Also, Camelot utilizes our primary social-emotional learning curriculum which has been rolled out in all pre-k classrooms and 15 of our elementary and middle schools.

Becoming an integral member of our school system, Camelot will use our school district curriculum, supplemental instructional programs, and student management system so students can seamlessly transition back-and-forth between Camelot’s programs and the student’s zoned residential school location.

Camelot employs a consistent instructional model across all programs which mirror the types of instructional best practices we expect our teachers to use on a regular basis.

A wide variety of students will be able to participate in the EXCEL Academy, and in conjunction with JD Davis Elementary, this will ensure that therapeutic students have access to typical peers and opportunities to transition into lesser restrictive environments within these settings. Also, students will have access to a variety of academic, social, and emotional models with adult supervision and supports.

All three programs provide a support system that works with students and staff to address student behavioral, emotional, academic, vocational, and social concerns.

A therapeutic day school will increase behavioral and therapeutic services beyond what is available in a typical school environment to address the needs of more students.

It will expand services for the most aggressive students in the school system.

It provides summer extended school year (ESY) services for students enrolled in Camelot with the most aggressive behaviors to ensure continuity in reaching academic, social and behavioral expectations.

It provides an opportunity for students with aggressive behaviors to participate in leveled vocational training class as driven by the student’s IEP.

An EXCEL Academy provides a proactive opportunity for students to catch back up with their peer group and graduate on time as well as provides hope for students who are extremely behind.

Students who are over age, lack credits, or who desire something different than a traditional school setting.

Students enrolled in the EXCEL Academy are not identified by a grade level. Instead, they interact with appropriate age cohorts as they earn credits toward graduation.

A transitional school would be started.

Students start in a new environment restoring their dignity and allowing them theopportunity to learn the social-emotional components necessary for them to be successful when they return to the traditional academic environment.

It supports seamless transition of students from the Transitional School to the EXCEL Academy if in the best interest of the student.

Students participate in Restorative Justice programming which strengthens their lack of executive function skills and integrates them as a productive member of the community.

Forum Questions and Responses:

Q. Will students in transitional school receive therapy?

A. Yes, students enrolled in the Transitional School will receive therapy if an identified need exists.

Q. Will these students’ parents be offered assistance, training, and therapy as needed?

A. Yes, Camelot will provide parent outreach, so students have access to support while at school and home.

Q. We have several schools under-populated; Marshall is in very bad shape. Would it not be better to rearrange the population of a better location to house this program?

A.The Marshall facility is in relatively good shape. The majority of the modification is cosmetic or replacement of items that moved to other locations when Marshall closed.

District administration will make a recommendation to close and consolidate schools at a later date.

Q. Can transitional school students attend the therapeutic day school it they do not have an IEP?

A. No, the Therapeutic Day School is open only to students with an Individualized Education Plan (IEP).

Q. Will students be able to return to their assigned high school to graduate with their class?

A. Yes, students will be able to return to their assigned high school so they may graduate with their class.

Q. How much psychological help will be given to the students on a regular basis?

A.Students will receive assistance in varying amounts based on identified need.

Q.Will art therapy be available for Camelot students?

A. Yes, art therapy will be available.

Q.What is the percentage of SPED students in the district that require the specialized services Camelot is proposed to provide?

A.About two (2) percent of the special education population will participate in the therapeutic day school.We anticipate that approximately fourteen (14) percent of the population in the transitional school and EXCEL Academy will be special education.

Q. What is the percentage of students in the district that require certified mental health counselors?

A. Approximately 20 percent of students have mental health issues, one out of every five students. Camelot is using the building, the systems lunch room staff. What we are losing are staff.

Q. Does Camelot have to be a package deal? AIM can stand alone. How will the transitional school differ from AIM?

A. Yes, Camelot is a package deal.

Q. AIM does not provide the behavioral and therapeutic services that Camelot provides.Will MCSD pay utilities for Marshall?

A.Yes, we will transfer the utility expenses from AIM.

Q.Who will pay for the maintenance of the building?

A. Since Marshall Learning Center is district property, we will take care of the maintenance of the building, the same as our other properties in the district.

Q. Camelot-GA is a new company. Does it have any assets in GA? Other schools or is this the first?

A.Camelot does not have any assets in Georgia. We will be the first school district in Georgia to establish a partnership with them.

Q.What other companies did you look at besides Camelot?

A.We reviewed several different providers, and after eighteen (18) months of research, we chose Camelot as the best fit for our school district.

Q.How will this impact local teacher jobs? Are you going to hire anyone locally?

A. Camelot will hire teachers, and MCSD will continue to hire teachers. There will not be a negative impact to local teacher jobs.

A.Yes, Camelot will hire teachers from Columbus and the surrounding area.

Q. Do you ever hire unaccredited teachers?

A.No, all teachers must have appropriate Georgia teaching certification.

Q. Is there a plan to separate the transitional students according to need? For example, chronic discipline problems and low academically versus students with minimal discipline problems and academically issues in the same setting.

A. The Transitional Students will be integrated and enrolled in the same courses as their transfer location. All students will have an individualized plan based on identified student needs.

Q. At this time, what are the number of contracted or outsourced workers who service students with behavioral and academic problems?

A.We do not currently have any contracted or outsources workers who serve students with behavioral or academic problems.We do have contracted services for training teachers.

Q. If students receive a modified graduation curriculum at the Excel Academy are there provisionsin place to prevent this from becoming a “fall back” plan for non-motivated students who donot truly need to use this service?

A. Students do not have a modified graduation curriculum. They will still be responsible for meeting all state graduation requirements.

Q. Camelot uses a modified block schedule called a 5x5. The schedule accommodates student to complete ten (10) credits per year, permitting graduation within 2.5 years.

A. Students may not graduate before their original graduation cohort.

Q. Will therapeutic services and vocational programs be offered to students in both the transitional and therapeutic school as well as to regular special education students?

A. Yes, therapeutic and vocational programs will be available to all students.

Q.Wasn’t there a recent law that was passed stating special needs students cannot be segregated from the general population?

A.The school district must provide a Least Restrictive Environment (LRE).

Q. Students in the Therapeutic Day School (K-5) will remain on the JD Davis Elementary campus, so they will remain in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) and can be integrated with other elementary students as specified in their Individualized Education Plan (IEP). Students in grades 6-12 will be on the Marshall Learning Center campus, remaining in an LRE so they can integrate with other secondary students enrolled in the EXCEL Academy as specified in their IEP. The EXCEL Academy is a “choice” school, not alternative education which is open to regular and special education students throughout Muscogee County.

Q.How long will a child stay with Camelot? Max Time?

A.Depending on the type of program, there will be varying amounts of time that a student will participate in Camelot programTransitional School- Students attend until the tribunal assigned time complete. Therapeutic Day School- Students attend until an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) team makes the decision that it is time for the student to return to their home school location.

EXCEL AcademyStudents attend until they are ready to transition back to their home school location.

Q. Is participation optional? At what point will the program become mandatory?

A. Transitional School- Participation is mandatory as student placement is through the district’s Tribunal Process due to a discipline infraction. With the therapeutic day school, an Individualized Education Program (IEP) team determines if a student will participate. Students placement in schools does not occur through their IEP. Instead, the team decides what services the student needs, and then the student attends a school where the district can provide those specified services. With EXCEL Academy, participation is optional; students will have to complete an application and be accepted based on space availability.

Q. How are average children going to be separated from those with behavior issues? How is Camelot going to keep children with disabilities safe in a building with children who are acting out to the point of harming someone?

A. Students enrolled in each Camelot program transition separately, and there is always an adult readily accessible. Students are not allowed to circulate throughout the building without an adult present. When behaviors escalate, Camelot staff immediately intervene and provide assistance to modify student behavior through targeted intervention using prescribed standard protocol.

This story was originally published April 18, 2017 at 6:31 PM with the headline "Q&A from Muscogee County School District forums on Camelot Education proposal."