COVID-19

Lindalyn’s message about charter school leadership during COVID is featured on EdNC today.

Charter schools have responded to the pandemic in innovative and agile ways. Families continue to seek out charter options. As Lindalyn writes:

Families clearly like what they see. Even prior to the pandemic, families were flocking to charter schools. With their myriad missions and offerings — language immersion, character education, performing arts curricula, service learning, STEM/STEAM programs, Montessori focus, and more — charter schools hold growing appeal. The state’s 200 public charter schools now serve more than 126,000 students, an increase from 117,000 students in 2019-20. Seventy-eight percent of charter schools report waitlists, totaling 76,000 students.

Read Lindalyn’s EdNC piece here.

As the pandemic begins to recede, educators are looking back. What worked in K-12 education? What didn’t?

For the state’s charter schools, a look-back is common practice. In fact, statute mandates an annual charter report to assess the “educational effectiveness” of the state’s charter schools.

A challenging year for charter schools

Like all schools, charter schools experienced an especially difficult year in 2020. Recently, the State Board of Education (SBE) learned how charters responded. On SBE’s May agenda: a discussion of the new annual charter report for 2020. As it turns out, charter schools have helped lead the way during the pandemic.

In a new op-Ed published by North State Journal, the Coalition’s executive director, Lindalyn Kakadelis, provides a run-down on some of the ways they did it:

… Charter teachers worked to ensure continuity and efficacy in communication, utilizing an array of tools strategies, and platforms. Nine out of 10 charter teachers combined synchronous and asynchronous lessons, the charter report notes. Eight in 10 used video conferencing and written comments to give students feedback, as well as communicating with parents via remote and face-to-face conferences. Seven in 10 charter teachers provided tutoring and targeted help for students.

Charter teachers also kept close tabs on student well-being. At almost all charters — 97% — teachers conducted regular check-ins with students on academic and personal issues. Nearly two-thirds of charter teachers conducted consistent social-emotional check-ins with their students as well, the charter report found. Such comprehensive oversight, while demanding for teachers, undoubtedly helped keep more students on track during the protracted time of remote learning.

We applaud the state’s charter schools! Read more of the op-Ed here.

Confusion is growing around reopening guidelines for public charter schools. Here’s what we know right now.

Some background

Last week marked passage of bipartisan school reopening legislation (S 220/Session Law 2021-4). The law orders local school administrative units in North Carolina to open schools for in-person learning, directing grades K-5 to open under Plan A (minimal social distancing) and grades 6-12 under Plan A or Plan B (six feet of social distancing), or both. Charter schools were not included in S 220, based on their autonomy.

At a called meeting yesterday afternoon, the State Board of Education (SBE) approved amended guidance governing school reopening. Guidance seeks to clarify what districts and charters should do. For grades K-5, charters should open under Plan A, like districts. Plan A requirements for grades K-5 are outlined in the current version of the state’s public health toolkit. However, guidance for charters with students in grades 6-12 may seem less clear. Here’s what SBE’s amended guidelines state:

Charter schools specifically were not included in Session Law 2021-4; therefore, they are required by Session Law 2020-49 to follow the provisions outlined in the most current version of the DHHS StrongSchools NC Toolkit with regard to educating students in grades 6-12.

Based on the latest version of the toolkit, charters with students in grades 6-12 must operate under Plan B. In addition to incorporating Plan A guidelines, Plan B requires that schools ensure 6 feet of social distancing when people are stationary indoors; when teachers and staff congregate; and when people are stationary outdoors. Find additional guidelines and information on page 8 of the toolkit.

What the Coalition is doing

There are two ways to clear up any ambiguity or confusion, ensuring that charters can open grades 6-12 under Plan A, like district schools. The first option is to update the toolkit. The other option is to pass legislation. Presently, the Coalition is seeking a legislative fix for this issue, which DPI has said it will support. This is just a matter of cleaning up technicalities. We hope to have a legislative fix as soon as possible. We appreciate the partnership of the Superintendent, DPI, and legislative leaders in helping to make that happen.

During the pandemic, charter schools have continued to perform well. In fact, charter students’ academic performance seems to be more resilient than that of students at district schools. That’s a clear takeaway from new data presented to lawmakers today, highlighting worrisome numbers of at-risk students across North Carolina.

Currently, more than one in five students are at-risk of academic failure and are not making sufficient progress. But academic failure is much less common than that among North Carolina’s charter students.

The presentation to the NC Senate Education Policy Committee, coming from NC Department of Public Instruction (DPI) officials, shared an early look at 2020-21 performance. Data, from both districts and charter schools, are self-reported.

Statewide, 23% of students in school districts are at-risk academically. At North Carolina charter schools, that number is less than 10%. A screenshot from the presentation shows the breakdown by school type:

You can access the full presentation from DPI leaders here.

Thanks to our charter leaders for their excellent service to our students!

Advocacy from charter leaders has helped expedite teacher vaccinations! On February 10, Governor Cooper announced that teachers would be prioritized in the next round of COVID vaccinations. This decision follows advocacy from the state’s charter and other K-12 leaders. And it comes on the heels of the Governor’s recent recommendation that schools re-open for in-person learning. In fact, numerous N.C. charter schools are already open for in-person learning.

The push: prioritize our teachers

On February 4, in partnership with Rhonda Dillingham of the North Carolina Association for Public Charter Schools, the Coalition’s executive director, Lindalyn Kakadelis, sent a joint vaccine letter to Gov. Cooper and DHHS Sec. Mandy Cohen. The ask: Prioritize vaccinations for all public K-12 educators. The letter urged that charter and district educators be vaccinated in the first wave of Group 3 (frontline essential workers).

The very good news: This is now scheduled to happen.

The letter to Gov. Cooper and Sec. Cohen noted:

“Earlier this week, you and other state leaders called on more schools around the state to open for in-person learning. As advocates for the state’s public charter school community, we support this worthwhile goal. The pandemic and related school closures have resulted in devastating lost learning opportunities for North Carolina’s students.

However, we must also ensure that charter and other public K-12 educators receive their vaccinations as quickly as possible, so they can safely and reliably perform their essential roles in person. While educators are committed to doing their part and continuing to follow established public health protocols, they should be able to do so knowing that the state is striving to prioritize their health and safety by expediting their vaccinations.”

Eligibility for teacher vaccinations opens February 24.

February 4, 2021

Governor Roy Cooper

North Carolina Office of the Governor

20301 Mail Service Center

Raleigh, NC  27699-0301

Secretary Mandy Cohen

Office of the Secretary

North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services

2001 Mail Service Center

Raleigh, NC 27699-2000

Dear Governor Cooper and Secretary Cohen:

We write to you on behalf of North Carolina’s 201 public charter schools, and the thousands of teachers, administrators, and support staff who serve charter students every day. Along with their peers in district schools, charter educators are working tirelessly to teach students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Already, some have lost their lives to the virus. The NC charter community grieves, like so many others.

As they seek to enter or re-enter their classrooms, our teachers must be armed with maximum protection against the virus. In keeping with this goal, we ask you to expedite vaccinations for North Carolina’s public K-12 educators.

We understand that K-12 educators, as frontline essential workers, are already scheduled to be vaccinated as part of Group 3, following the Group 1 and Group 2 vaccinations that are currently underway. However, we request that you prioritize, within Group 3, those frontline essential workers who do their jobs in the public sphere, vaccinating them in Part A, or the first wave, of Group 3. This would encompass expediting Group 3 vaccinations for all public frontline workers, such as teachers, school administrators, K-12 support staff, police officers, and first responders. The second wave, or Part B, of the Group 3 vaccinations could be allocated to frontline essential workers in the private sector.

Earlier this week, you and other state leaders called on more schools around the state to open for in-person learning. As advocates for the state’s public charter school community, we support this worthwhile goal. The pandemic and related school closures have resulted in devastating lost learning opportunities for North Carolina’s students.

However, we must also ensure that charter and other public K-12 educators receive their vaccinations as quickly as possible, so they can safely and reliably perform their essential roles in person. While educators are committed to doing their part and continuing to follow established public health protocols, they should be able to do so knowing that the state is striving to prioritize their health and safety by expediting their vaccinations.

Thank you for your consideration of this request. Please do not hesitate to contact us if we can be of any assistance.

Sincerely,

Lindalyn Kakadelis

Executive Director

North Carolina Coalition for Charter Schools

704-231-9767

Rhonda Dillingham

Executive Director

North Carolina Association for Public Charter Schools

336-669-9996

cc:        Superintendent Catherine Truitt

North Carolina Department of Public Instruction

Chairman Eric Davis

North Carolina State Board of Education

Mr. Dave Machado

Director, North Carolina Office of Charter Schools