Earlier this week, the Coalition distributed a press release highlighting high demand for N.C. charter schools for the upcoming school year. As the release notes, in some parts of North Carolina, charter school admission rates “rival those of Ivy League universities (the difference, of course, is charter schools select students via random lottery.)”
The release features new findings from the Coalition regarding 2023-24 applications. Some data points are included below.
- Piedmont Community Charter School in Gaston County: 1,569 students applied for 297 available spots.
- Greensboro Academy in Guilford County: 2,201 students applied for 76 open seats (all of them in kindergarten).
- Bradford Preparatory School in Mecklenburg County: There were 2,905 applications for 252 spots.
- Pine Lake Preparatory in Iredell County: There were 4,142 applications for 168 spots.
In this year’s charter school annual report, the N.C. Department of Public Instruction reports a charter school waiting list of 77,000 student names.
Lindalyn Kakadelis, the Coalition’s executive director, said:
In just the past 10 years, the population of public charter school students has tripled, and the trend does not appear to be slowing down. Thankfully, the General Assembly lifted the charter school cap years ago, and parents across the state are grateful for the legislature’s support for school choice.
Find the Coalition’s press release here.
