The new 2023-24 school year is just around the corner, with some students headed back to school later this week. Others will don backpacks and head out the door to school later this month. Where will they go? We’ll know more precise enrollment numbers later this fall, but available data show a steadily shifting landscape.
Last year, for instance, roughly 1.4 million students attended district public schools. Around 140,000 students attended public charter schools. New non-public data for 2022-23 show nearly 127,000 students attended private schools and almost 153,000 students attended home schools.
Here’s a new graphic about K-12 market share from WFAE reporter Ann Doss Helms:
Graphic source: Ann Doss Helms, “NC school enrollment trends raise big questions about the future,” WFAE, August 8, 2023.
View more in Ann Doss Helms’s Education News newsletter or this WFAE article.
What does the 2023-24 landscape look like for charter schools?
Across North Carolina, 211 public charter schools will be operating in 2023-24. This figure includes seven new charter schools that are set to open this month. At its meeting last month, the State Board of Education gave final approval for these seven schools completing their Ready to Open process. The new N.C. charter schools for 2023-24 include:
- Mountain City Public Montessori School (located in Buncombe County; serving grades K-6 in year one)
- Aspire Trade High School (located in Mecklenburg County; serving grades 9-10 in year one)
- Wayne STEM Academy (located in Wayne County; serving grades K-5 in year one)
- Movement School NW (located in Mecklenburg County; serving grades K-1 in year one)
- Bonnie Cone Leadership Academy (located in Mecklenburg County; serving grades K-10 in year one)
- Legacy Classical Academy (located in Rockingham County; serving grades K-5 in year one)
- School of the Arts for Boys (located in Chatham County; serving grades 3-6 in year one)
