Tagged: charter

A bill that creates a new board to oversee charter schools is moving forward.  The Senate Education Committee approved it Wednesday.    

Senator Jerry Tillman of Randolph County wants to create a new board specifically to monitor charter schools and vet applications for new ones. 

North Carolina has 107 charter schools and dozens more are looking to open in the next couple of years.  State lawmakers today are considering a bill that would change the application process and oversight of these schools.     

A prominent critic of charter schools, standardized testing, and private influence on education spoke at UNC Charlotte Wednesday evening. UNCC paid Diane Ravitch $20,000 to appear at the campus’ McKnight Auditorium in front of about 100 teachers, students, and community activists.

The number of applications to open charter schools has jumped significantly since the charter school cap was lifted in 2011.  There used to be a couple dozen applications per year.  This year 156 groups plan to apply and that means a whole lot of work for the people who review them. 

Joel Medley is in charge of the office that oversees all of the state’s charter schools.  This year, he expected to hear from a lot of groups wanting to open schools, but not quite this many.