Did COVID accelerate Charlotte private school growth? Here’s what to know.
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Charlotte 2021 Back to School
Due to COVID-19, masks are required at CMS and adults are encouraged to get vaccinated. There’s also a push among educators ad parents to catch up students who lost academic progress during the pandemic.
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Local private schools are seeing enrollment gains this school year — including retention of some students who moved from public schools last year when Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and state leaders chose to keep many classrooms closed in light of the pandemic.
At Providence Day School in Charlotte, the number of applications to the private, college preparatory school was a record this year.
Other private schools in the area have reported similar growth.
While the COVID-19 pandemic has played a role in heightened interest — parents turned to alternatives to a public education when many districts had to shut down in-person learning — educators say the vast majority of families are looking at a long-term solution in independent schools.
“Charlotte has been a growth market for independent schools for many years now, thanks to our region’s steady population and economic growth,” said Leigh Dyer, spokeswoman for Providence Day. The school has enrolled 1,830 students this year. “During the past year, we saw additional interest due to the fact that we safely maintained in-person learning while so many public school systems were fully remote, but again, most independent school students stay for the long term.
“Our re-enrollment rate among current families was 98% last year.”
Charlotte-Mecklenburg public school enrollment, at close to 143,500 students, fell below projections this year and is relatively flat, so far, compared to the 2020-21 school year. When the pandemic set in, CMS — like most public districts across the country — saw an unprecedented dip in year-over-year enrollment.
NC home school, private school growth
As many large public school districts nationwide report shrinking enrollment, North Carolina education data shows booming home school numbers and more modest growth among private K-12 schools.
In 2020-21, nearly 19,000 students in Mecklenburg were enrolled in private schools, including independent and religious-based schools. Five years ago, the figure was close to 18,500.
Kendal Clement, a 15-year-old junior at Charlotte Country Day School, switched from a Charlotte-Mecklenburg public school education to that of Charlotte Country Day, an independent, when she was accepted for her seventh-grade year.
Clement has been able to root herself in a wide array of courses in her passion: science. She’s been able to take courses including biology, chemistry, marine biology and environmental issues.
“I believe hands-on learning is really what sets public school and private school apart,” Clement said. “The amount of time my teachers have spent with me outside of class has helped me tremendously, and I cannot think of a time where I felt that same embracement at public school.
“The structure of the schedule and how it helps me have more free time is my favorite thing. Country Day is a college prep school so they treat us as young adults and teach us how to handle responsibility.”
Last year, at the height of the pandemic, while CMS went completely virtual, Charlotte Country Day was on a hybrid schedule.
“We had a mix of half and half,” Clement said. “It was more hands on.”
The number of home schools in North Carolina has increased significantly in recent years, and the number of K-12 students in home school in the state has more than doubled in the last decade. Home schools are required to register with state officials and while North Carolina students in home school still must take at least one annual standardized test (for skills in English and math, for example), families are otherwise given flexibility on how learning is conducted.
In Mecklenburg, more than 13,000 students were enrolled in home schools during the school year that ended this spring — a school year severely interrupted by the pandemic. In the two years before COVID-19, nearly 10,000 to 11,000 students annually enrolled in home school, state data show. There are some limitations to the data because families who home-school children under the age of 7 are not required to officially register with the state.
North Carolinians for Home Education, a policy advocacy organization, estimates that in the 2020-21 school year, close to 16% of school-age children in the state were in a home school.
One-on-one attention
Dyer said schools like Providence Day differentiate themselves in many ways — and have during the pandemic.
“In general, independent schools like Providence Day tend to be attractive due to the strength of our faculty; our freedom to set our own curriculum guidelines; our ability to respond quickly to changing conditions (as the pandemic showed),” Dyer said, “and our strong and lifelong alumni networks.”
Because of that, families are finding ways to afford tuition — which can range anywhere from $19,000 for students in kindergarten to $28,000 for students in older grades.
“Private schools, in general, offer more one-on-one attention (because) the class sizes are substantially smaller,” said Miliani Smith, 17, a senior at Charlotte Country Day. “I have been in classes with as little as six students. Writing is a much larger part of the curriculum. I’ve had to write papers for all subjects: English, math, science, art and history.”
Providence Day prides itself in a global focus — it was the first independent school in the nation to offer a Global Studies Diploma.
“We also have a mission of social responsibility, and are the only independent school in the nation to host a Children’s Defense Fund Freedom School on our campus each summer,” Dyer said. “We are the most diverse independent school in Charlotte, counting 72 countries of origin among our student body and 32% of students self-reported as students of color this school year.”
At Charlotte Latin School, officials said enrollment has increased. It now enrolls 1,500-plus students.
“Enrollment has increased due to our expanded capacity with additional buildings made possible by our successful capital campaign,” said Susan Carpenter, the director of marketing and communications.
Carpenter pointed to the National Association of Independent Schools as to what sets them apart. Besides small class sizes, independent schools are governed by a board of trustees, not a public school board. They are primarily supported by tuition payments, charitable contributions and endowment revenue. There’s also more personalized learning.
Smith said that while private schools may have a lot of pros in comparison to public schools, every type of school has areas to improve.
“I will say I’ve seen private schools begin to improve on creating a diverse community, but still have work to do when it comes to equity and inclusion,” Smith said.
“The small grade levels can sometimes create a competitive environment, which can lead to unhealthy stress levels. It’s important that students find a balance between their social and academic life.”
This story was originally published August 29, 2021 at 6:00 AM.
