 Charter Schools Approved for
2017 Fall Opening
Eight
new charter schools were approved in August for a fall 2017 opening
date, bringing the total number of charter schools to 180 and extending
the public school options available to students. Charter schools serve
slightly more than 5 percent of North Carolina’s public school students.
The new charters, which were selected from 28 applications, are:
• Emereau: Bladen – Bladen County
• Discovery Charter School – Durham County
• Twin City High School – Forsyth County
• Montcross Charter Academy – Gaston County
• Johnston Charter Academy – Johnston County
• Movement School – Mecklenburg County
• UpRoar Leadership Academy – Mecklenburg County
• Rolesville Charter Academy – Wake County
Charter
applicants go through a lengthy selection process involving a review,
interviews, and recommendations from the Charter School Advisory Board,
followed by consideration and action by the State Board of Education.
Following Board approval, charter recipients go through a year of
training and preparation before they receive final approval and
clearance to open for students.
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2017-2019 Biennial
Budget
Preparation Underway
The 2016-17 fiscal year budget has only recently been
finalized, and it is already time to begin budget development and planning for
the 2017-2019 biennium.
Legislators return to Raleigh in late January to begin
the long session and budget development to support the state’s priorities for
the next two years. The Governor’s Office requires all state agencies to
provide their budget requests in advance so his budget may be developed for the
General Assembly’s consideration, so work is underway.
NCDPI Financial and Business Services staff held three
listening sessions with North Carolina school superintendents, finance officers
and other local educators earlier this summer to help frame budget priorities
considered. That feedback made a significant
difference in the priority list that Board members reviewed at their August
meeting. For example, local education leaders noted that they need assistance
in addressing the social and emotional needs of students that can make learning
difficult.
Other items being
considered include funding to address the impact of new legislation that requires
class sizes to match class size allotments; professional development for
teachers; more digital content; master’s degree pay; more competitive salaries
for assistant principals and principals; more assistant principals; more adults
to support teachers and students (teacher assistants and instructional
facilitators); funding for students with special needs; funds to address the
impact of losing “lower cost” students to charter schools; reducing allotment
categories; removing restrictions on flexibility with teacher assistants,
children with special needs, and Career and Technical Education; and a desire to
return to school-based awards versus individual pay differentials.
Board members
will continue to discuss these options in September and October.
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 North Carolina is
Creating Plan to Meet New Federal Education Requirements
What will the new federal education law, Every Student
Succeeds Act, mean for North Carolina students? State educators and
policymakers are crafting North Carolina’s plan now for submission to the US Department
of Education during its March submission calendar.
Academic indicators will continue to include proficiency on
English language arts/reading and mathematics, progress of English language
learners, graduation rates, and a to-be-decided other academic indicator for
elementary and middle schools. In addition, the new law requires the inclusion
of other measures of school quality or student success as long as those
indicators are valid and reliable, comparable, available statewide, and
meaningful indicators of student success.
Input is being collected online through the “Let’s Talk”
application, which may be accessed from the Department’s website; in regional meetings with
superintendents and school officials; as well as in six public comment sessions
to be held from 4-6 p.m. on each of the following dates:
Oct. 6 – North
Wilkesboro
Oct. 12 –
Jacksonville
Oct. 18 –
Fayetteville
Oct. 19 –
Tarboro
Oct. 24 –
Waynesville
Oct. 25 –
Burlington
More specific details about these meetings will
be shared in the September Partners message and through other communication
channels.
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State Board of Education Welcomes Two New Members
North Carolinians in the North Central Education Region and
the Northwest Education Region have new representatives on the State Board of
Education. Amy White of Garner (Wake County) and Todd Chasteen of Blowing Rock
(Watauga County) attended their first onsite board meeting in August. Their terms end March 31,
2023.
Eleven board members are appointed by the Governor and approved by the
General Assembly. The State Treasurer and Lieutenant Governor serve ex officio on
the Board, which sets policy to guide public schools and public charter schools
statewide.
Achievement School District and UNC Laboratory
Schools Outlined
Legislation approved in 2016 provided for two new school options – an Achievement School District comprised of up to five low-performing schools (from various traditional school districts) and the institution of UNC Laboratory Schools. Board members received briefings on both programs in August.
Achievement School District
This model would identify a total of five schools by the 2019-20 school year to
be in this special district of various qualifying low-performing schools. These
schools would be led by a special school superintendent selected for the
Achievement School District (ASD) by the State Board of Education and would be
in the special district for five years, plus an option to extend by three
additional years.
The ASD would be under the leadership of the State Board of
Education, but led by its own superintendent who will have the duty of
supervising, managing and operating the schools. Each school would be run by a
specific achievement school (AS) operator. The student attendance zone would
remain the same as before, and funding would be similar as that provided to
charter schools. The local school district would continue to be responsible for
capital expenditures such as routine maintenance and repair, building repair,
furniture and equipment, and transportation. The AS operator and ASD superintendent may choose to enter into a “funding
memorandum of understanding with the local board of education...for all student
support and operational services and instructional services...”
The first schools in this new district could be named as
soon as January 2017, to begin operating as the new district in the 2017-18
school year.
UNC Laboratory Schools
In this model, the UNC Board of Governors would establish
laboratory schools through eight UNC campuses to improve student performance in
local school districts with low-performing schools. The lab schools would
operate in districts with 25 percent or more low-performing schools and can
operate for five years or more (renewable as long as the district continues to
have 25 percent or more low-performing schools. Operations, regulations and
funding would be similar to charter schools. Students would not be required to
attend laboratory schools, and they will be schools of choice.
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