Charter School Advisory Board (CSAB) March Meeting

The North Carolina Charter School Advisory Board met March 11-12^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.

Greetings from Ms. Lindalyn Kakadelis   Spring has sprung!  Time is flying by and soon Spring Break will be upon us. Hard to believe that in a few months the 2018-19 school year will be history. Last month CSAB continued to interview charter school applicants for the 2020-21 school year.  The last interviews will be held in April and then all of our recommendations are headed for State Board of Education’s final approval.    The charter school movement continues to expand with quality applications and innovative ideas.  From a new Chinese immersion in Wake County to a school designed around the Glasser Quality School Model in Harnett County.  Charter schools offer families an educational opportunity that best meets the needs of their children. Of course, you better than anyone else understand the reasons why we exist.  Meanwhile, the General Assembly is in the middle of their 2019 Session.  Over 178 bills impacting K-12 education have been introduced.  Most will never make it to a law, but it is important to stay alert to new legislation. Also, I encourage you to keep policy makers on your “speed dial.” Who, better than you at the school level, can best influence those making laws affecting charter schools?    As a member of CSAB, let me express our appreciation to each teacher, staff member, operator, and board member who works tirelessly giving over 100,000 charter school students the best education possible.  Enjoy your Spring!

Application Season

The application season is nearing completion. So far, thirteen charter schools have been recommended for approval and will go to the State Board of Education (SBE) for final approval in the upcoming months. Three of those thirteen schools have been approved by the SBE for acceleration. At this month’s meeting, five charter applicants received full interviews and one was recommended for approval. The CSAB also heard four clarification interviews; three were recommended to the full interview at April’s meeting.

Presentations and Discussion

The CSAB heard presentations from Paul R. Brown Leadership Academy, Ignite Innovation Academy – Pitt, KIPP Charlotte, and Z.E.C.A. The CSAB also heard amendment requests from Anson Charter Academy and NC Connections Academy. The request for a second one-year delay from Anson Charter Academy was denied. The discussion regarding NC Connections Academy’s request to terminate its relationship with Pearson OBL has been tabled for continued discussion at April’s meeting.

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