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"Charter schools grew by 4.9% last school year to educate 139,985 students. Between the 2019-20 and 2022-23 school year, North Carolina had the third-highest growth rate in the nation in charter school enrollment."
Raleigh, NC – The News & Observer today reported on trends in North Carolina K-12 enrollment, underscoring the continued popularity of public charter schools. The data the outlet reported show that public charter schools had the highest enrollment growth of any school type in North Carolina last year.
According to the News & Observer, public charter school enrollment grew by 4.9%, compared to 3.5% for private schools, 3.2% for home schools, and -0.4% for traditional public schools.
"Between the 2019-20 and 2022-23 school year, North Carolina had the third-highest growth rate in the nation in charter school enrollment," the News & Observer also reported.
Lindalyn Kakadelis, executive director of the N.C. Coalition for Charter Schools, said, "Public charter schools continue to surge in popularity, complementing traditional public schools by offering innovative curricula enabling students to specialize in certain fields. An additional 85,000 student names are on 2023-24 charter school waitlists. Charter schools are a successful piece of the school choice landscape because of the flexibility afforded them by legislators."
In recent years, the General Assembly has passed legislation to preserve the independence and flexibility that help public charter schools succeed. Last year, for example, the legislature enacted into law House Bill 219. The measure eases the approval process for new public charter schools and removes growth restrictions on charter schools that are not low-performing.
Last year, Stanford University published the most comprehensive examination of public charter school performance to date. The study found that "charter schools produce superior student gains despite enrolling a more challenging student population than their adjacent traditional public schools."
The Stanford University study also found that charter schools "move Black and Hispanic students and students in poverty ahead in their learning faster than if they enrolled in their local traditional public school. They are more successful than the local public school alternatives across most grade spans and community settings."
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