Over 85,000 students waiting to enroll in North Carolina charter schools

Thousands of North Carolina families are clamoring for coveted spots at charter schools, a new state report revealed.

The report, compiled for the Legislature by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (DPI), details charter school growth in the Tar Heel state – and their growing waitlists.

“For the 2022-22 school year, 145,075 students were enrolled in charter schools representing over 10% of the total state enrollment,” it reads.

Of the state’s 210 charter schools, 169 report having a waitlist, with over 85,000 more students hoping to enroll (though DPI notes some of the 85,000 may be duplicates, since the same student can be on more than one waitlist at a time).

Nevertheless, the number of families clamoring for nontraditional educational opportunities is staggering. Over 80 charters have 200 students or more hoping for a seat, and 37 schools have waitlists exceeding 700.  

And even as more public-school choices become available, private school choice is thriving, too. North Carolina’s Opportunity Scholarship program received over 72,000 applications for the upcoming school year, though the state hasn’t allocated enough money to fund them all.  

Its program for special needs students is growing as well.  

Since North Carolina lifted its 100-school cap on charters in 2011, more and more families have left the government-run public school system. The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools reports a 19% enrollment increase between 2019 and 2023 alone.  

During the same period, traditional public-school enrollment in North Carolina declined by 3%.  

Notably, much of the growth in alternative education has come from minority students. According to DPI’s new report, the racial demographics of charters and traditional public schools (or LEAs) are virtually identical. While public schools have a slightly higher percentage of Hispanic students, charters boast slightly higher rates of black, white and multiracial students.  

Charters also enroll their fair share of special education students (11.5% vs 13% in LEAs). And more low-income families are joining charters as well, making up 38% of the student population in 2023 compared to just 24% in 2019. 

Why are charter schools becoming so universally popular? According to state data, just 39% of elementary and middle schoolers are proficient in both reading and math. National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) scores for 8th graders are even worse: 26% proficiency in reading and math.  

Comparatively, around 55% of charter school students between 3rd and 8th grade read at grade level. A similar number perform well in math, though there is a steep drop-off (33%) at 8th grade in charters as well.  

Indeed, national studies have confirmed charter students generally outperform the academics of their traditionally public-schooled peers, which might explain why so many North Carolina families are signing up to make the switch.