School Membership

Membership Benefits

• Advocacy on behalf of state charter schools with state & national legislators, media, and other stakeholders through our legislative agenda. Our advocacy goes hand-in-hand with our ongoing efforts to educate the population about the positive contributions of NC charter schools.
  
  

• Important updates on state and federal charter school legislation and other charter school news.

• Subscriptions to:
  
  1. Matters of Principal – state charter sector news
  2. Preferred Partners emails – vendor discounts offered exclusively to members

Opportunities to collaborate with charter leaders across your region and the state through educational workshops, luncheons, round tables, job fairs, school showcases, and our annual conference. Receive registration discounts for educational workshops and our conference.

• Exclusive access to Association Member Portal that contains school document templates covering policies.
• Exclusive access to Association Job Board to list open positions and review resumes
• Access to resources including an online library of ready-made school forms, manuals, and other essential school operations documents. We also assist with media relations to promote your school’s successes or deal with a crisis
• Access to charter law and policies that include information on best practices used at other charter schools
• Receive exclusive email invitations with special opportunities to support charters (e.g. serving as a school representative on a charter advisory committee that develops additional resources for charters)

FAQs

Q: Can you explain more about the role the Association plays in our state’s charter school sector?

A: When groups of people come together to apply, establish, and run charter schools, they often operate in their own spheres with relatively limited knowledge about what is happening around them and what is available to them. Our Association is a resource center for NC charter schools that helps them stay informed on the latest news in the charter school sector, advocates before the General Assembly for fair policy between charter schools and its district counterparts, partners with businesses to offer member schools discounts on products and services, and connects charter schools with each other to create a more impactful charter school movement in our state.

Q: How are membership dues assessed?

A: Dues are assessed each fall after the 20-day Average Daily Membership (ADM) for each school is published by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI). Membership lasts until the fall of the following school year when the new ADM is released. Membership rates are as follows:

• Planning-Year Schools – FREE
• First-Year Schools – $1.75 per student
• Experienced Schools – $3.50 per student (1,000 student cap)

Q: What are the qualifications of school membership?

• The school must be located or plan to be located in the state of North Carolina
• The school must have been granted a charter by the North Carolina State Board of Education (SBE) (NC General Statute 115C-218.5)
• The school must maintain academic, financial, and governance standards (NC GS 115C Article 14A) as determined by the SBE (NC GS 115C-218.30)