Q&A: NC charter school official makes a case for more charters | Opinion

Editor’s note: A new school year is starting in North Carolina and a new law could eliminate growth restrictions on charter schools that aren’t low performing. We asked Rhonda Dillingham, Executive Director of the NC Association for Public Charter Schools, to answer some editorial board question about charters. Answers were edited for brevity.

How will universal vouchers affect charter schools?

Charter schools are tuition-free public schools funded through a combination of federal, state and local dollars. They cannot receive voucher funding because they are not private. However, vouchers and public charter schools are not mutually exclusive. The existence of one does not diminish the other. We support parent choice and environments that increase parent choice in education.

Who should oversee charter schools?

We feel that House Bill 618 has been needed for quite a while. It streamlines the charter review process and transfers it from the State Board of Education to a more diversely appointed board, the Charter Schools Advisory Board. Because the CSAB is charged with the initial investigation, regular review and ultimate oversight of every charter in the state, its recommendations to the SBOE are more regulatory than advisory in nature. This bill will put the government closer to the people when it comes to charter school authorization.

Should the number of charter schools per county be limited to prevent traditional public schools from losing excessive funding and students to charters?

For a charter school to successfully go from concept to classroom, there must be demonstrated demand. As long as that demand exists, why should the charter school market share not be allowed to expand and meet it? If a charter performs well, enrollment builds until there is a waitlist. If it is unable to compete with district schools, then it will eventually have to shut its doors. The system is set up in a way that allows charters to put pressure on the market while also being held accountable to the state as schools and businesses. There is also accountability to parents: When given the choice, parents vote with their feet. With a statewide waitlist of 77,000 students, N.C. charter schools have room to grow for as long as parents continue to choose them.

Should there be more accountability in terms of teacher licensure and curriculum at charters?

Having uncertified teachers in classrooms is not new to public education. The Residency model puts teachers in traditional classrooms while they complete licensure coursework. To address the growing teacher shortage, education decision makers should be exploring more ways to make the profession more attractive to potential educators, not limiting schools to 100% certified teachers.

One of the six legislated purposes of charter schools is to “encourage the use of different and innovative teaching methods,” so opening the door to highly-qualified subject matter experts gives students the opportunity to learn from those who might not have been allowed to teach in a district school. Hiring from a deeper pool of potential educators is a means to an end that is ultimately reflected in test scores and state letter grades.

How do charters improve the racial achievement gap and ensure that poor children, especially Black children, aren’t left behind?

The recent report by Stanford University’s Center for Research on Educational Outcomes provides unassailable data that nationally charters produce exceptional outcomes for students, especially those who are Black or Hispanic. Charter school students gained an average of 16 additional days of learning in reading and 6 extra days of learning in math. On average, Black students enrolled in charters gained an additional 35 days of learning in reading and 29 days of learning in math. Hispanic students attending charters saw an additional 30 days of growth in reading and 19 more days in math.

North Carolina charter admissions lotteries are race-blind, and thanks to a 2018 federal grant over 70 N.C. charters are approved to utilize a weighted lottery that gives a level of preference to educationally-disadvantaged children. As a greater number of charters begin to implement a weighted lottery, the hope is to see a greater number of educationally-disadvantaged students enrolling in charters.

This story was originally published August 15, 2023 at 5:30 AM.