Charter School Advisory Board (CSAB) January Meeting

The North Carolina Charter School Advisory Board met January 14^th – 16^th at the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.   

The agendas are available on the State Board of Education’s website under the Meetings tab. There you can also find presentation materials for each agenda item, where applicable.

Charter School Advisory Board meetings are live-streamed and available on the NCDPI YouTube Channel.

Questions regarding this meeting should be directed to NCDPI Communications at 919-807-3450.

Application Season   The application interview season is in full swing. CSAB heard its first round of full interviews and continued with clarification interviews at its January meeting.   Last year 26 groups submitted complete applications and 11 were ultimately recommended for approval. This year, 35 groups submitted applications, and so far 8 have been recommended for approval. Three of those eight have been recommended to open on an accelerated schedule.    At the January CSAB meeting, five applicant groups were moved to full interviews in February: North Raleigh Charter (CSUSA/Replication), Wendell Falls Charter (CSUSA/Replication), Doral Academy of NC (Doral Inc/Replication), Achievement Charter Academy, and Power Elite Preparatory. Clarification interviews will also continue in February.

Presentations and Discussion

The CSAB heard presentations from Thomas Academy and Marjorie Williams Academy about their unique charter school programs and plans for academic improvement. In addition, the CSAB reviewed and discussed weighted lottery and amendment policies.

Amendments

The CSAB discussed several amendment requests including a relocation request and articulation agreements.  Articulation agreements allow one charter school to give lottery preference to another charter school under certain circumstances allowed under GS 115C-218.45.

Henderson Collegiate   Congratulations to Victor Clifton! Victor is a senior at Henderson Collegiate who was awarded a full scholarship to Duke University through the Questbridge program.   Victor spoke to the NC Charter Schools Advisory Board meeting at its January meeting. Board members praised Victor for his grit and determination in achieving his dream to attend Duke University.   Pictured here with the CSAB members is Victor, his mother, and his high school principal Jackson Olsen.

Twitter!     The Office of Charter Schools announced its official Twitter account to the CSAB. OCS hopes to raise awareness and promote positive news about our charter schools through this social media initiative. In addition, this will serve as another communication tool for the office. Find us at @NCCharterOffice.

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT – EDDIE is the authoritative source for NC public school numbers and demographic information, is used by multiple NCDPI technology systems including: Accountability, PowerSchool, NC School Report Cards, and is used to meet federal reporting requirements. LEAs and charter schools are responsible for ensuring their data in EDDIE are complete, accurate, and current. EDDIE is located at: http://apps.schools.nc.gov/eddie