Charter schools remain the fastest-growing segment of K-12 education in North Carolina. That’s according to recent data from state government showing around a 5% increase in charter school enrollments since last year. In contrast, district school enrollment saw a slight decline of 0.4%.

The rise in charter school enrollment coincides with increases in private and homeschool enrollments, which grew by 3.2% and 3% respectively. These trends underscore a broader movement towards educational choice among parents in North Carolina.

Lindalyn Kakadelis, executive director of the Coalition for Charter Schools, noted the continued expansion of charter schools as a testament to their growing popularity. 

“Public charter schools offer innovative curricula and specialize in fields that complement traditional public schools,” Kakadelis said. “An astonishing 85,000 students are currently on charter school waitlists for the 2023-24 academic year,” she said.

Jerry Cooper, a father of two from the Raleigh area, is one of the parents who have chosen a public charter school in recent years. After his family relocated from the Washington, D.C., area, where his kids attended a private Catholic school, he and his wife were attracted to the charter options in the Triangle and ultimately chose RISE Southeast Raleigh Charter School.

“My wife and I saw smaller class sizes, which led to enhanced student engagements,” Cooper said in an interview with Carolina Journal. “We also saw increased parent engagement, which helped them to be more involved their kids’ learning. We also found charters to be deeply connected to the community.”

Cooper added that he doesn’t oppose traditional public schools, but having charter schools as an option is important.

“I love the idea to have that option of a charter school, and hopefully they continue to grow and produce the educational learning environment that is beneficial for their students,” he said.

An ongoing challenge for charter schools is growing their capacity to keep up with student demand.

There are currently at 210 charter schools operating in the state, a number that is not expected to grow this year for the first time since 2011 due to a shortage of available buildings and real estate, according to Kakadelis.

Traditional schedule schools — public, charter, private — are in the midst of welcoming students back to school for the 2024-205 school year.