charter schools
State Board of Education appeals panel recommends closing all-boys charter school
A State Board of Education appeals panel will recommend against allowing School of the Arts for Boys Academy (SABA) to continue to operate in Chatham County. The state’s Charter Schools Review Board ordered the school to close Dec. 30, citing its low enrollment. SABA leaders appealed the review board’s decision to the state board. The […]
Heritage Collegiate Leadership Academy gets unfavorable ruling from State Board of Education panel
A State Board of Education panel voted 3-0 on Monday to uphold a Charter Schools Review Board denial of a charter to Heritage Collegiate Leadership Academy-Wake (HCLA-Wake). Charter applicant Kashi Bazemore immediately notified the panel that she will seek legal representation and appeal the panel’s decision to the NC Office of Administrative Hearings. HCLA-Wake leaders […]
All-boys charter school in Chatham County seeks private donations to remain open
An all-boys charter school in Chatham County ordered closed by the end of year due to low enrollment has taken the unusual step of asking for private donations so that it can remain open through the remainder of the academic year. In an email sent Tuesday, Valencia Toomer, founder and head of school for the […]
Allegation that charter school student used racial slur, flashed a gun on FaceTime raises concerns
This story contains racist language that might upset some readers. A white seventh-grade boy who attends Discovery Charter School in Durham allegedly called a Black classmate a “monkey” and another racial slur, and then flashed a rifle to several students during a FaceTime chat, Arssante Malone, the father of the Black student, told NC Newsline. […]
State program for improving access to charter schools reports progress
A federally funded program designed to increase the number of educationally disadvantaged students attending North Carolina charter schools has met most of its goals, Barbara O’Neal, NC ACCESS program administrator, told the NC Charter Schools Review Board this week. Program goals included training 160 school leaders to work with educationally disadvantaged students, as well as […]
Heritage Collegiate applicant to appeal Charter Schools Review Board decision
Kashi Bazemore said Monday that she will appeal the Charter Schools Review Board’s decision to not reconsider her charter application to open a school in Wake County. The review board voted against reconsidering Bazemore’s application to open Heritage Collegiate Leadership Academy last week, citing concerns about her past leadership of a charter school in Bertie […]
Weekend reads: A controversial court ruling, GenX imports, redistricting, and much more…
NC Appeals Court: Mom who committed crime while pregnant can lose parental rights By Kelan Lyons Judge Murphy justifies decision because ‘life begins at conception’ The state Court of Appeals issued a ruling Tuesday that affirmed the termination of a mother’s parental rights — even though the child hadn’t yet been born at the time […]
Charter Schools Review Board approves application for Union County charter school
Overturning a previous State Board of Education ruling, the new Charter Schools Review Board on Tuesday approved a charter application for American Leadership Academy Monroe (ALA Monroe) in Union County. The 6-1 vote in favor of the application means the K-8 school will move to the ready-to-open phase to prepare for an August 2024 opening. […]
Cary charter school illegally retaliated against math teacher, federal ALJ rules
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Hearings and Appeals has ruled that Cardinal Charter Academy in Cary engaged in illegal, retaliatory actions when it fired a math teacher who made “protected disclosures,” claiming the school did not provide students with the special education services their Individual Education Plans required. Terri Schmitz’s firing violated the […]
Putting moneyed interests over people
Legislative leaders are knowingly violating the constitutional rights of North Carolina’s 1.5 million public school students in order to help fund tax cuts for the corporations and wealthy North Carolinians who finance their campaigns. North Carolina’s constitution requires the state to provide all students with access to decent schools that provide all students with meaningful […]
State Board of Education’s power to withhold charter school funding restricted under state budget proposal
A provision in a state budget draft released Tuesday would limit the reasons on which the State Board of Education can rely to withhold funding from charter schools. Under the provision, the state board can withhold or reduce a charter school’s funding to make enrollment-based adjustments, if a school has violated the term of its […]
Charter school applicants’ request for reconsideration rescheduled for October
The new Charter School Review Board has temporarily tabled the requests of two charter school applicants seeking reconsideration of unfavorable State Board of Education rulings. The Review Board will hold those hearings next month. One of the applicants seeking reconsideration of an earlier state board ruling is Heritage Collegiate Leadership Academy — Wake County. The […]