WEST END ATLANTA

Just pretend like you got this letter in your inbox:



Dear Kindezi parent/supporter:

Greetings! We are a week away from the State Board of Education meeting date, so I wanted to ask for your help as well as send along the meeting details. As far as your assistance, I am looking for parents to send me a brief explanation of your support of The Kindezi School, along with why you think that our particular charter school would be a great fit or a huge help to your child's growth. We heard some great stories at the meeting from parents who feel that our small class sizes and focus on individualized instruction could make a big difference in their child's life, and we're looking to compile some of those stories in letter form. We will then send several letters with these anecdotes to State Board of Education members.

Secondly, we could really use your presence at the upcoming State Board of Education meeting on Wednesday, April 1. The most important part of the meeting to make it for is the beginning, when all people attending can introduce themselves and state who they're there to support. If you needed to leave before the meeting was over, that would be fine. The details:

State Board of Education Charter Committee Meeting
Wednesday, April 1: 8:30-10:30am
20th floor, State Board of Ed Board Room
205 Jesse Hill Jr. Drive, SE
Atlanta, Georgia 30334

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If you're interested in helping, please contact me via e-mail mrindlesbach _at_ gmail.com

Thanks again, everyone!

Stick with me here, folks....read the entire post before you get too upset!


So, over the past few days it's become apparent to Kathleen, Dean, and other associated with The Kindezi School that the State Board of Education is going to vote to deny the charter. What this means is that Kindezi will NOT be opening in the fall of 2009. This isn't the end, though. The state board has made it very clear that they want to work with Kindezi to approve their charter with some modifications. Atlanta Public Schools is 100% behind Kindezi and has already said they will do whatever it takes to pass the charter speedily once the revisions are made, and Kindezi will re-apply to the State Board of Education for charter approval for the 2010-2011 school year.

What does this mean for West End?

I know, it kind of feels like yet another slap in the face after all that our neighborhood has gone through in the past while - a good thing comes our way and it gets pulled out from underneath us. However, as I said, this school is far from gone. I spoke with Kathleen today and she said that ultimately, this school is about educating children and that the State Board of Education is interested in implementing the concept and is going to work with Kindezi to make sure that it does happen. The next steps are to go back to the charter, make revisions, and re-submit. It's already been discussed that this stage of the process will happen prior to the enrollment period next year so that when students are enrolled, the school will already have an approved charter. I know that this is a cold comfort to those of you who were looking forward to your children attending Kindezi this fall.

I'm looking at it as a one-year delay in plans.

Thank you to everyone for your efforts in supporting The Kindezi School. I was recently added to the Kindezi Founding Board, and I will have an update for you after our meeting this Sunday. I'm confident that, knowing our obstacles this next time around, the school will open and offer an innovative educational choice for families in Southwest Atlanta.

Please let me know if you have any questions. I will do my very best to keep West End in the loop!

Mary, I am bummed. But keep us informed.

Hi all,

I'm trying to reach as broad of an audience as possible, so I'm posting here. The Kindezi founders have asked that we reach out to all who might be interested with this information.
Every little bit helps!

Dear Kindezi supporter, May 1, 2009



As you may know, The Kindezi School faced a significant setback recently when the Georgia Department of Education (GADOE) recommended denial of our charter petition for an August, 2009 opening due to concerns with our governance model. As a result, we must make revisions to the governance and management section of our petition and resubmit to the GADOE in August of this year in order to obtain approval for a delayed August, 2010 opening. Because we are an approved Atlanta Public Schools charter school and have demonstrated extensive community support, the GADOE has pledged to work closely with us to ensure that our petition is approved in this upcoming cycle.

The reality we’re facing with a year’s delay is that we must now fully fund an additional twelve months of pre-operational costs ranging from staff salary to office supplies to staff recruitment. In fiscal year 2008-09, the cost of Kindezi operations was close to $40,000. Though we plan on implementing a scaled-back operations budget for FY 2009-10, we have arrived at a point in our grass-roots school effort where we must reach out to our network to seek additional funding to sustain us until we begin to receive public funding in August, 2010.


Would you consider making a one-time, tax-deductible donation to the Kindezi School Start-Up fund? By making a donation to the Kindezi Start-Up Fund, your contribution will be applied directly toward the following school-related expenses:

o Student recruitment
o Teacher recruitment and hiring
o Curriculum research and development
o Interim salary


If you are considering making a contribution, you may do so via either of the following two options:

1. Make a quick and secure online donation by visiting our school website at www.kindezi.org/Donate.html
2. Send a check made out to "The Kindezi School" to P.O. Box 11170, Atlanta, GA 30310


Your monetary support, large or small, will help move us toward our goal of opening an innovative charter school in southwest Atlanta which seeks to meet the needs of every child through small classes and individualized instruction. We appreciate your support, and thanks!