Charter System

Overview

Marietta City Schools (MCS) became one of Georgia’s first Charter Systems in June 2008. The MCS charter system includes twelve schools: one early learning center, seven K-5 elementary schools, one sixth grade academy, one middle school, one high school, and one grades 3-5 elementary magnet school (Marietta Center for Advanced Academics).

MCS also has an alternative program for grades 9-12 at the Marietta Performance Learning Center at Woods-Wilkins. This program is not listed as a “school” to be converted under the charter system. The school district also includes one SB 618 residential treatment center: George W. Hartmann Center. This residential treatment center operates under a Memorandum of Understanding with MCS and the Georgia Department of Education.

Your Charter System in Action

School Choice

Through a strategic planning process begun in 2006, MCS has already implemented certain system-wide innovations. One of these is elementary school choice. Curriculum at our elementary schools is based on the Georgia Performance Standards (GPS).

For the 2025-26 school year the following schools are accepting choice applications:

• A.L. Burruss Elementary
• Dunleith Elementary
• Hickory Hills Elementary
• Lockheed Elementary
• Park Street Elementary
• Sawyer Road Elementary

Marietta Center for Advanced Academics (MCAA) is a STEAM magnet school and does not accept choice applications. For information on applying to the MCAA Magnet Program, please visit MCAA Application Procedures.

• Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM)(Marietta Center for Advanced Academics)

The Choice Academies concept extends to the middle schools; students can continue in the IB Middle Years Program (MYP), or in the STEM magnet program. In high school, MCS students can select from career pathways, IB diploma/certificate, dual enrollment, Advanced Placement (AP), or early college programs.

Innovations - Charter System

Charter System Innovator of the Year

The Charter System Foundation Innovation Award recognizes the system that demonstrates instructional innovations in the classroom, schoolhouse, or  system-wide level with a focus on unique programs that increase student interest and drive achievement. MCS was selected to receive this award for the innovative Graduate Marietta Student Success Center, a one-of-a-kind program at Marietta High School.

MCS Charter innovations include:

• 8th to 9th grade transition academy,
• Addition of new career pathways at the high school level,
• Digital student portfolios,
• Enhanced classroom experiences and authentic assessments,
• Expansion of the role of School Governance Teams—converting advisory local school councils into “highly trained and high performing” governing bodies,
• Exploration of horticulture, ecology, teacher preparation, and other emerging career pathways,
• Financial incentives for teaching in areas of critical need,
• Graduate Marietta Student Success Center
• Increased individualization through differentiation,
• Internships and early college pathways,
• Looping cohorts,
• Small learning communities,
• Teacher innovation grants and performance incentives,
• Teacher leadership academy,
• Use of career inventories in upper elementary and middle grades,
• Web-based learning and assessment.