Teacher retention is a critical issue for charter schools, which often face unique challenges such as limited funding, high expectations, and increased autonomy. Retaining skilled and motivated teachers is essential for maintaining a high standard of education and fostering a positive school culture. Here are several strategies that charter school leaders can implement to retain their teaching staff:

1. Provide Competitive Compensation and Benefits

While charter schools may have limited budgets, offering competitive salaries and comprehensive benefits packages can make a significant difference in retaining quality teachers. This can include health benefits, retirement plans, performance bonuses, and professional development stipends. If direct compensation is constrained, consider non-monetary perks like additional planning time or wellness programs.

2. Foster a Supportive Work Environment

Teachers are more likely to stay when they feel supported by their administrators and peers. Charter school leaders can create a supportive culture by providing consistent feedback, opportunities for professional growth, and clear communication. Establishing mentorship programs and collaborative teaching teams can also help new and veteran teachers alike feel connected and valued.

3. Offer Opportunities for Professional Development

Teachers are passionate about growing their skills and improving their craft. Charter school leaders can retain teachers by offering ongoing professional development opportunities, such as workshops, conferences, and access to coaching. Encouraging teachers to pursue further education and certifications can also make them feel more invested in their careers.

4. Recognize and Appreciate Teachers' Efforts

Regular recognition of teachers' hard work can go a long way in boosting morale and job satisfaction. Whether through formal awards, public recognition at meetings, or simple thank-you notes, acknowledging teachers’ efforts fosters a positive work environment and reinforces the value of their contributions.

50CAN recently published The State of Educational Opportunity in America:  A 50-State Survey of 20,000 Parents.  This first-of-its-kind report highlights how parents in all 50 states perceive the current education landscape.  50CAN surveyed more than 20,000 parents and then analyzed this data in both a national and regional context.  The report not only analyzes parents/guardians by state, it also looks at income, educational attainment and other categories, including the type of school where their children are enrolled.  

Of charter school parents/guardians, 50% say they are satisfied with the type of school their child attends, compared to just 39% of traditional public school parents.  In addition, 73% of charter school parents/guardians say that if they could choose any type of school for their child they would choose a charter school.  Only 59% of parents/guardians stated that a traditional district school would be their first choice.

In North Carolina, 403 parents/guardians were surveyed this past summer.  40% of those surveyed are satisfied with their child’s school compared to 45% nationally.  61% of parents/guardians feel like they have a choice in what school their child attends compared to 65% nationally.  Only 32% of North Carolina parents/guardians are satisfied with how their school supports their child’s mental health needs compared to 37% nationally.  32% of parents/guardians in our state have reviewed information about their child’s school’s performance compared to other schools.  Only 32% of parents/guardians in North Carolina have extreme confidence their child will be well equipped to succeed in the workforce compared to 34% nationally.  Lastly, only 29% of parents/guardians in our state have extreme confidence their child will be prepared for college compared to 32% nationally.

Check out the full report for more information.

According to state-level data analyzed by the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools in a new report, Do You Know Where the Children Are? A Five-Year Analysis of Public School Enrollment, for the 2023-24 school year, North Carolina’spublic charter school enrollment grew by 24.32% percent or 28,839 students. Charter schools in North Carolina were the only type of public schools to grow this year.   

Nationally, over the past five years, charter schools gained nearly 400,000 students, while district schools lost 1.75 million. Hispanic and Black families are increasingly choosing charter schools, with Hispanic enrollment growing 18 times faster in charters than in district schools.  More than half of the new Black charter school students came from three states: Texas, Florida, and North Carolina.  In North Carolina, Black charter school enrollment has grown by 23.83% over the last five years.  Hispanic charter school enrollment in North Carolina increased by 53.47% over the last five years.

The data underscores the importance of offering diverse, high-quality education choices to families. As charter schools continue to flourish amidst declining district enrollment, it’s clear that parents are seeking innovative public school models that better meet the needs of their children. Dive into the full report to explore these key trends and their implications for the future of public education. 

Tara Holden

Parent

Brevard Academy

 Why do you support charter schools?

Ted Duncan

School Director

Brevard Academy

Why do you support charter schools?

Olivia Bennett

Alumna, Chatham Charter School

English II Teacher, Chatham Charter School

 Why do you support charter schools?

Heather Craven

Parent and PTSA Secretary

Chatham Charter School

 Why do you support charter schools?

Duke Lewis

Alumnus, Envision Science Academy

Rising Junior in Chemical Engineering at North Carolina State University

 Why do you support charter schools?

Fatih Sahin

Marketing Coordinator

TMSA Public Charter Schools

 Why do you support charter schools?

Lorenzo Jones

Alumnus, TMSA Greensboro

Data Center Network Operations Technician @ Google

 Why do you support charter schools?

In response to the Opinion piece written by Tom Campbell and published in the Wilmington Star News on March 10, 2024, we have the following to say:

Tom Campbell’s March 10 article on the purported failures of our state’s public
education system features some unfortunate but common myths about North Carolina’s
charter schools. The most dangerous and harmful falsehood that Mr. Campbell
presents is that charter schools can be “essentially segregated, not just by race but also
by socioeconomic and academic criteria.” 
Not only is this untrue, but as any parent who has applied for their child to attend a
charter school can tell you, the mechanism by which such segregation could potentially
take place does not exist. All initial charter admissions processes are conducted via a
lottery system that is 100% blind to the factors that Mr. Campbell names as a means of
segregation. Socioeconomic status is the only exception, as the Legislature enables
charters to weight their lotteries in favor of socioeconomically disadvantaged students
so that more of those applicants can be served.
Charters were never intended to replace traditional district schools but to supplement
them with innovative best practices. For charter schools that receive certain federal
funding in North Carolina, programs such as NC ACCESS have been enthusiastically
implemented by the charter sector as a means to ensure that more socioeconomically
disadvantaged students are enrolled in charter schools and that more best practices are
shared between charter and traditional schools.
Charter schools are free, public and open to all. To suggest otherwise is not only false
but negligent. Charters have been serving their purpose since 1996 and will continue to
do so.

-Rhonda Dillingham, NCAPCS Executive Director

We caught up with 2023 NC Charter School Teacher of the Year Ryan Henderson to get some of his "Good News" and a very heartfelt take on Black History Month in his own words!

Name: Ryan M. Henderson

Current Organization: Sugar Creek Charter School

Current Position Title: TV Broadcasting, Journalism and Film Teacher; 2023 NC Charter School Teacher of the Year

In February 2024 the North Carolina Association for Public Charter Schools and Gray III Search! partnered with one overriding goal—to help member charter schools in North Carolina recruit outstanding people for Executive Director/Head-of-School, Fundraising, and Communications Director positions.

Jim brings 25 years of experience working with and for nonprofits and has been an active member of NCAPCS for the past four years.

“Jim brings a wealth of talent and senior experience in the nonprofit world to this partnership,” said NCAPCS Executive Director Rhonda Dillingham. “This enhances our ability to serve our members and helps them recruit top talent. That way, they can fulfill their full potential for students and families across our state.”

The North Carolina Association for Public Charter Schools (NCAPCS) is proud to announce an annual leadership development partnership with Rhodes Branding, a mission-led branding and marketing agency exclusively serving K-12 education.

As a professional association created to support and expand successful charter schools in North Carolina, NCAPCS provides regular professional development to its member educators, administrators, and school board members. Through this partnership with Rhodes Branding, NCAPCS will leverage the agency’s expertise in key areas like competitive K-12 brand-building, engagement strategy, and enrollment and recruitment marketing, to enhance its 2024 professional development catalog. 

“We aren’t talking about logo and mascot design, although we do that, too,” said Austin Rhodes, the agency’s president and co-founder. "By sharing our expertise in school branding, marketing, and engagement strategies with K-12 leaders through our partners’ conferences and virtual professional development sessions, our team desires to make a sustainable impact for schools nationwide.”

“We feel extremely confident that participants in this unique professional development series will walk away with tools that will enable them to add immediate value to their educational organizations,” said NCAPCS Executive Director Rhonda Dillingham. 

“We are proud of this particular partnership because we have observed first-hand the power of Rhodes Branding to transform their client experience in the K-12 education space,” she said. “Charter schools are public schools – they are tuition-free and open to all – but there are many subtle nuances to elements like brand positioning and enrollment marketing that must be understood in order for effective professional development to be provided to our membership,” Dillingham continued.

In observing and celebrating Black History Month, we took some time to catch up with former State Representative Marcus Brandon to talk about the good he sees in charter schools and the power of Black-led schools.  Check it out!

Name: Representative Marcus Brandon

Organization: CarolinaCAN

Title: Executive Director

The celebration of February as Black History Month is an important piece of any school's calendar, but it is more than just a one-time event.  We sat down with NCAPCS Board Chair Dr. Michelle Johnson, Director of The Point College Prep and Leadership Academy in Jamestown, NC to learn more:

When you think of Black History Month, what do you envision?

I envision a celebration of all that we have learned throughout the year.  It’s not just 28 days of studying important figures, but the culmination of yearlong inclusion of the important, little-known African Americans in our history.

Why is Black History Month relevant to the charter community? 

“When the winds of change blow, some people build walls and others build windmills.” -Chinese Proverb 

Isn’t change challenging? We spend so much of our time wanting to stay in what is comfortable. To be honest, I have been there too. I have wanted to teach the same lesson because it was comfortable. I have wanted to stay with the same curriculum because I had taught it for years. I have wanted to stay on the same team because they were my friends. I have even rolled my eyes when my former Principal asked me to move classrooms at seven months pregnant. The truth is, she knew I would find joy and growth in the new hallway. I just did not have the ability  to recognize it at the moment. 

However, change pushes us to be more. Sometimes, the push feels like a tap, and other times it feels like a drop off the side of a mountain. No matter what your change feels like, know that there is beauty on the other side of the push. 

This week is National School Choice Week. We celebrate our School, and how far we have come in a year and a half. There are several misconceptions about Charter Schools. This is the perfect week to clarify those misconceptions. 

“Charter school is private.” We are a public charter school that serves potentially all of North Carolina-tuition free! We currently serve students from Caldwell, Catawba, Burke, Hickory City, and Alexander counties. 

ASHEBORO, N.C. (JAN. 16, 2024) – As the state’s leading membership and support organization for public charter schools., the North Carolina Association for Public Charter Schools provides a wide array of services and support to help all the state’s charter schools provide a high-quality education to their students. To encourage employees of the organization’s members to upskill and further their careers by pursuing educational opportunities, NCAPCS has signed a collaboration agreement with Western Governors University, an accredited nonprofit online university.

As part of the agreement, NCAPCS employees and members will be able to apply for WGU’s Partner Connect Scholarships in the amount of $2,500, which is disbursed in increments of $625 per term for up to four academic terms based on satisfactory academic performance. Tuition at WGU is around $4,000 to $5,000 per six-month term, and students are able to accelerate at their preferred pace with the consent of their assigned program mentor.

Established in 1997, WGU offers more than 80 bachelor’s and master’s degrees in the fields of K-12 education, information technology, business and healthcare. WGU currently has more than 5,200 students enrolled in North Carolina, including 964 in its Teachers College.

by Rhonda Dillingham

Published in The Carolina Journal

What’s in a name? 

In the case of the newly-minted Charter School Review Board, that answer encompasses the entirety of the entity’s new charge and function.

Formerly known as the Charter School Advisory Board, or CSAB, this government body has moved from an advisory to a regulatory capacity.  It no longer makes recommendations to the State Board of Education on cases involving the granting, renewal, suspension and termination of North Carolina’s charter school agreements.  The CSRB is now first chair.  It is where the buck stops.  The BOE only serves as the course by which CSRB decisions can be appealed.