Fast Tracks Charter Schools Win “Race to the Top” Today

The State Board of Education today voted to grant new charters to nine North Carolina school applicants. These will be the first post-cap public charter schools to operate in the state. The first charters opened in 1997 and have been limited to 100 by law until Senate Bill 8 passed last summer.

Eddie Goodall, Executive Director of the NC Public Charter Schools Association, said:

“This is historic for families across North Carolina. We thank the legislature, the Office of Charter Schools, the Charter Advisory Council, the State Board of Education, and especially the founding boards of these future schools for their hard work to this memorable point in time.

These new educational options for parents and educators should excite them. Charters have certain regulatory exemptions that allow teachers to have more control and decision-making in their classrooms. Parental satisfaction of charters has been evidenced by Department of Public Instruction surveys and more importantly, by the numbers choosing charters and currently on long waiting lists.”

The nine new schools are:

Bear Grass Charter School (Martin County), Cornerstone Charter Academy (Guilford County), Corvian Community School (Mecklenburg County), North East Carolina Preparatory (Edgecombe County), Research Triangle High School (Durham County), The Howard and Lillian Lee Scholars Charter Academy (Orange County), The College Preparatory and Leadership Academy of High Point (Guilford County), Triangle Math and Science Academy (Wake County), and tiny Water’s Edge Village School (Currituck County).

State Board of Education Chairman Bill Harrison said, “Charter schools are an important part of our system of public education and offer families another choice in school structure, setting and focus.”

Now the schools will scurry to get facilities ready, teachers hired, and students enrolled by the August school opening dates.

# # #

The NC Public Charter Schools Association is an NC non-profit and can be reached at info@ncpubliccharters.org, 704-236-1234, or by mail at PO Box 78528, Charlotte, NC 28271. The Association’s website is www.ncpubliccharters.org .