The partnership is developing a series of initiatives for charter schools to enhance learning, teaching, and leadership.

Dr. Landry, the new chairman of the NC Alliance, and Senator Howard Lee, the President and founder of the Howard N. [...]]]> The NC Alliance for Public Charter Schools and the Howard N. Lee Institute are announcing a strategic partnership aimed at advocating and implementing educational initiatives for public school students.

The partnership is developing a series of initiatives for charter schools to enhance learning, teaching, and leadership.

Dr. Landry, the new chairman of the NC Alliance, and Senator Howard Lee, the President and founder of the Howard N. Lee Institute, believe focusing our efforts on teaching, learning, and leadership will translate into improving educational opportunities for children.

Senator Lee stated: “The Lee Institute was founded to insure that all students are successful regardless of the schools they attend.”

Dr. Landry said: “We are pleased to partner with the Lee Institute. We share their mission to improve the overall opportunities with the public school systems across North Carolina and believe that our public charter schools must set high standards for its leaders to increase the level of student success in the classroom.”

The North Carolina Alliance for Public Charter Schools (“Alliance”) is a 501 (c) (3), nonprofit, non-partisan organization with a mission of advancing quality educational opportunities for all North Carolina children by supporting and expanding successful public charter schools.

Senator Howard Lee has served as Executive Director of the N.C. Education Cabinet, Chairman of the NC State Board of Education, and was NC State Senator for 13 years, primarily focusing on education.

According to Dr. Landry, the state-wide charter school advocacy [...]]]> The NC Alliance for Public Charter Schools has selected Dr. Robert Landry as its new chairman.   Dr. Landry has strong experiences in both the public education system and in the private sector. The Virginia Tech graduate recently retired as Superintendent of the Davie County School System after 36 years in the public school system.

According to Dr. Landry, the state-wide charter school advocacy group achieved one of its major goals last year: permitting additional schools to be chartered beyond the old limit of 100 schools.

“With the removal of the state-wide cap limiting public charter schools in NC, at least 61 applications for new schools have been filed with the State Board,” stated Dr. Landry.

“As the leading advocate for charter schools, the Alliance is well-positioned to help these new schools in the chartering process and to continue to be an advocate for existing and new public charter schools to preserve and enhance their unique position on the frontier of quality public education,” he added.  Dr. Landry said that charter schools are serving as centers of innovation and incubation for driving public education forward.

In addition, the all-volunteer Alliance Board was pleased to add Mrs. Kimberly K. Norcross M.A.Ed. in Supervision, to the board. She brings both 16 years of private business experience and 16 years of educational and learning leadership to the Charter School Community. She is currently the Superintendent of Phoenix Academy and holds certifications in North Carolina for Principal K-12 and K-5 Elementary Education. She has seen thousands of students K-9 move to success during her leadership position at Phoenix.

Mrs. Norcross stated: “The Alliance got the job done, lifting the cap legislatively. The 2011 State Legislature removed the statewide cap on the number of Public Charter Schools which has helped the schools collectively gain strength and stability. Dr. Landry and I both agree, it is time to refocus on our most important mission: the quality and cohesion of charter school education and opportunities offered to students. What we offer to students in the Public Charter School System is critical. Public Charter Schools are the vehicles to bringing positive change in the landscape of education.”

The retiring Alliance Chairman, Paul Norcross, the Chair of the Phoenix Academy, will continue to represent the Public Charter School perspective on the Public Charter School Advisory Council of the State Board of Education. “I am very pleased that we did what we promised when we founded the Alliance four years ago. Now we can all move on to our primary goal: better education for our children.”

The NC Alliance for Public Charter Schools is hosting its third statewide conference for charter schools July 22-24 with many exciting speakers and presentations.  For more information on the conference visit http://nccharters.org .

His first priority will be to give families and students more choices: for charter schools he will speed up the current slow-moving application process to help the thousands of families on public charter school waiting lists; he will expand the access to and [...]]]>   In a speech last Wednesday, Pat McCrory, Republican gubernatorial candidate, summarized improvements that he would make to the state’s educational system.

His first priority will be to give families and students more choices: for charter schools he will speed up the current slow-moving application process to help the thousands of families on public charter school waiting lists; he will expand the access to and range of on-line virtual courses to be taught by the state’s best teachers by giving more flexibility to local systems; and he will promote a choice in high school diplomas to be available for ensuring competence in both college bound and career ready students.

Other priorities in his plan include: setting high expectations – particularly in third grade reading and ninth grade readiness; rewarding success with merit pay for teachers; establish a transparent, objective system for grading schools on both student progress and student proficiency.

His complete plan may be found at http://www.patmccrory.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Pat-Education-Plan.pdf

As other candidates announce their plans, the Alliance will pass them along to you

A toss of the mortar board for the students and staff at Alpha Academy for an outstanding 2010-2011 year!

Academics: Continuing their year-to-year gains, this 300-plus student, K-8 Fayetteville public charter school scored an impressive 83.4% performance composite combined with high academic growth for the year according to DPI reports.  These scores are “School of Distinction” levels, [...]]]> Academics, Assets, and Administration are all Alpha

A toss of the mortar board for the students and staff at Alpha Academy for an outstanding 2010-2011 year!

Academics: Continuing their year-to-year gains, this 300-plus student, K-8 Fayetteville public charter school scored an impressive 83.4% performance composite combined with high academic growth for the year according to DPI reports.  These scores are “School of Distinction” levels, and Alpha Academy is to be congratulated for their work. As a public school of choice for Fayetteville parents, the data show that Alpha Academy is very worthy of consideration.

Assets: Prepared by an independent accounting firm, their non-profit financial report to the federal government for the 2010-2011 year reveals that Alpha Academy’s efficient operation was able to save $291,140 for the year, and their total net assets or fund balances have accumulated to $1,100,130 of cash and assets in their rainy day fund.  This is a savings account prudently maintained by the school to survive unforeseen events such as tornadoes or a fire or to periodically upgrade equipment and facilities.

Administration: The school’s total revenue was reported by the independent accounting firm as $2,006,849 with $305,854 being

used for management and general expenses.  This is an overhead rate of only 15.2%, a strikingly low rate that means 84.8% of the funds went directly to supporting classroom learning or was saved for the rainy day fund.

The slab for the new building is being poured, and it should be ready for fall occupancy according to Chairman Eugene Slocum.

The Academy has been in the news recently with article in the Fayetteville Observer about its new science program and about being one of the few schools in the area to make AYP.  Read these articles at http://fayobserver.com/articles/2012/03/30/1167682  and http://fayobserver.com/articles/2011/07/21/1109773

From the data in these latest reports and all the campus activity, Alpha Academy is ably fulfilling its role in our state’s education system and providing a viable choice to those parents who wish to take advantage of its programs.

Prior to the meeting, charter schools were asked to respond to an extensive questionnaire covering a wide range of topics.  Enrollment, discipline procedures, lottery process, transportation, EC methods, AIG methods, teacher compensation, facilities, and community partnerships were some of [...]]]> Durham, NC – Area charter schools were called before the Durham Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) recently for an “education session” on charter schools for BOCC members.

Prior to the meeting, charter schools were asked to respond to an extensive questionnaire covering a wide range of topics.  Enrollment, discipline procedures, lottery process, transportation, EC methods, AIG methods, teacher compensation, facilities, and community partnerships were some of the subjects that the schools were asked to discuss in their reports.

In addition to the qualitative questionnaire, quantitative data was also tabularized on 40 different measures for the BOCC to review.  From per-pupil spending to SAT scores to ethnic breakdown and EOG scores were some of the measures reported for the committee to discuss.

  To grasp the magnitude of the issues, one should note that the Durham Public School System had 32,376 students and the 7 charter schools had a total of 2,710 (8%) with an average enrollment of 387 students in the charter schools. The average per pupil expenditure for the Durham system was listed as over $10,000 while the charter schools had substantially lower amounts with less than $8,000 for Carter Community and Kestral Heights, for example.

The ethnic breakdown showed the Durham system with 51% African-American while Carter Community, Global Scholars Academy, and Healthy Start charters were all above 85% African-American. Maureen Joy was at 79%.

First to speak to the BOCC was Dr. Becoats, Superintendent of Durham Public Schools.   Dr. Becoats responded to questions regarding the reading performance of its students, and what and how the system plans to address the deficits.

Charter school leaders next received the same level of drilling in various areas based on the curiosity of BOCC members.

The BOCC asked for clarity on how charter schools receive funding.  One commissioner and a member of the public requested to know what happens to the “left over money” that charter schools have in the coffers at the end of the year.  Both reiterated that these are public funds and as such, the public needs to know how much money charter schools have in reserves at the end of the year.  Apparently they were not aware that every charter school undergoes a detailed governmental audit every year and these audits are publicly available upon request.  Additionally prudent financial management has a well-accepted rule-of-thumb that an agency should always have enough cash on hand to run for two months without receiving any income.

A question was raised regarding the fact that charters have to rent facilities and that the facility owner may be deriving a profit from the rentals.  So long as the rentals are at fair market value, however, this is no different from the architects or contractors who profit from building facilities for traditional public schools from capital funds to which charter schools do not access.

The BOCC also sought clarity of what happens when traditional public schools lose children to charter schools after the 20th day.

Drew Cummings, Assistant County Manager told the charter leaders, “We know it is a busy time of year and thank you for the time you put into preparing your comments and taking the time to hear and absorb your fellow educators’ comments as well.”

“I want to thank Alex Quigley [of Maureen Joy Charter School] for bringing up the issue of economic diversity, too, and the achievement gap(s) between FRL [free-or-reduced-lunch] students and non-FRL.  We are doing a little work on data he already had on hand and will be sharing that back out with the group soon,“ Mr. Cummings added. “Thank you again for your participation this week and in advance for your thoughts and comments as we move forward,”  he concluded.

NC Alliance Vice-Chair Gail Taylor said, “Today’s experience leads me to believe that the public and appointed officials would benefit greatly from a charter schools funding primer.  Perhaps if county commissioners, school boards, and the public had a better understanding, there would be less confusion and misinformation in the community at large regarding charter schools as schools of choice.”       Gail Taylor

Paul and his subcommittee teamed with the DPI web wizards, and groups can now enter their applications for the April round online.  Paul is the founder and chairman of the highly successful Phoenix Academy charter school in [...]]]>  Thanks to Paul Norcross who headed the NC Public School Advisory Council subcommittee on Automation, the new online charter school application is available beginning March 1 at https://schools.nc.gov/charterapp .

Paul and his subcommittee teamed with the DPI web wizards, and groups can now enter their applications for the April round online.  Paul is the founder and chairman of the highly successful Phoenix Academy charter school in High Point.  His many years of daily involvement managing the school have given him unique insights into the challenges facing those who volunteer to bring school choice to North Carolina parents.

“People have submitted written applications since the Chinese invented paper in 105 AD.  With great help from DPI, we’ve now moved into the 21st Century,” exclaimed Norcross.  “Because of the time-line, we had to do a one-to-one mapping of the old paper application into the new on-line application.  But for the next round, we can go through and eliminate much duplication and redunacy from the process to make it more streamlined for all concerned,” he added.

 But how does the new on-line application work?

 The N.C. Alliance for Public Charter Schools is conducting a training session on Friday, March 16, 2012 on the campus of UNC- Greensboro that no applicant will want to miss.  This training session will focus on going through the new online application with Paul, himself, and will feature other seasoned charter school veterans to help with the content.

 Questions such as formats and fonts, how to add tables, how to cut and paste from existing documents,  how to include photos, and what to do about large appendix items will all be addressed.  Groups will then have about four weeks to get their information inserted properly into the on-line forms.

 Seating is limited, so please RSVP immediately to Karen at communication@nccharters.org to reserve your spot.

RALEIGH, N.C. – Former N.C. State Auditor Les Merritt, a Zebulon CPA, has joined the board of directors of the N.C. Alliance for Public Charter Schools.  Merritt will serve as the organization’s treasurer.  

“Les Merritt has supported the public charter school movement in North Carolina from day one,” says Paul Norcross, chairman of [...]]]>

RALEIGH, N.C. – Former N.C. State Auditor Les Merritt, a Zebulon CPA, has joined the board of directors of the N.C. Alliance for Public Charter Schools.  Merritt will serve as the organization’s treasurer.  

“Les Merritt has supported the public charter school movement in North Carolina from day one,” says Paul Norcross, chairman of the Alliance’s board of directors.  “We are pleased to add someone of his stature to our board of directors.”

“Public charter schools are an important piece of our state’s educational system,” says Merritt.  “I strongly believe in public charter schools and am pleased to support the charter school movement by serving on the Alliance’s board of directors.”

Leslie W. (Les) Merritt, Jr. is a partner with Merritt & Hawley, PLLC, a Wake-County-based CPA firm.  He served as State Auditor of North Carolina from January 2005 until January 2009 and as executive director of the Foundation for Ethics in Public Service, Inc. from mid-2009 until early 2011.  Merritt was the first Certified Public Accountant (CPA) to serve as North Carolina’s State Auditor. As State Auditor, he served on North Carolina’s Council of State, as a member of the Local Government Commission and led an agency with more than 200 employees.  Prior to being elected State Auditor, Merritt was an owner and managing partner in privately held accounting and auditing firms for over twenty (20) years. He has been a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) since 1981 and served as a Wake County Commissioner from 1994 through 1998. Prior to entering the accounting profession, Merritt spent several years in the banking industry.  He earned degrees in accounting and economics from North Carolina State University. Merritt is a past president of the Zebulon Elementary School PTA, Zebulon Rotary Club and Zebulon Lions Club and served as a member of the Zebulon Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. He lives in Zebulon, North Carolina with his wife, Cheryl. 

Today, we wanted to introduce you to the key players at Pioneer Strategies and let you know how they are available to serve you.

“Our first round of regional [...]]]> Last week the N.C. Alliance for Public Charter Schools held six successful regional meetings over the course of three days at locations throughout the state.  The regional meetings, which attracted approximately 100 people representing both existing public charter schools and prospective new charter schools, came on the heels of the Alliance’s announcement that it has moved toward a decentralized, regional structure.

“Our first round of regional meetings was a tremendous success,” says Gail Taylor, vice chair of theAllianceand principal ofCarterCommunitySchoolinDurham.  “Attendees had the opportunity to network, hear about the challenges other schools have faced and learn how they have met those challenges.  Our new regional approach is already paying dividends, and we look forward to working with our member schools to strengthen the public charter school community throughout North Carolina.”

The regional meetings were held at the following locations:

• Ÿ  Eastern North Carolina Region:  Charter Day School in Leland;
• Ÿ  Piedmont Triad Region:  Greensboro Academy;
• Ÿ  Triangle Area Region:  East Wake Academy in Zebulon;
• Ÿ  Western North Carolina Region:   Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy in Mooresboro;
• Ÿ  Charlotte Metro Region:  Union Academy in Monroe; and
• Ÿ  Raleigh-Durham Urban Region:  Carter Community School in Durham.