Below, we include a back-to-school message from Dave Machado, the Coalition’s executive director.
Dear Charter School Leaders,
Welcome to the 2026-27 school year! On behalf of the Coalition Board and team, I wish each of you a successful year ahead.
The back-to-school season is always exciting as a new academic year begins. I remember this time well from my days leading Lincoln Charter School. I also recall how busy I was!
As you tackle all of the tasks of the new school year, know that our Coalition team remains deeply committed to charter school advocacy and to serving as your voice in Raleigh. We’re planning a big year ahead as we continue our work to protect and promote public charter schools.
An election is right around the corner: You’ll hear more from us in the coming weeks about the 2026 legislative candidates who support public charter schools. In addition, planning for our fifth annual Charter Advocacy Summit, slated for March 2-3, 2027, in Raleigh, is already underway. We’ll share more on that soon, too.
Changes are underway for our state’s charter movement as well. North Carolina charter schools served over 160,000 students in 2025-26, representing 10.5% of public school market share, according to state data. Growth shows no signs of slowing down this year. According to the Office of Charter Schools, 217 charter public school units are expected to operate during the 2026-27 school year. That includes 213 brick-and-mortar charter schools and four fully remote statewide charter schools. This represents the highest number of charter schools on record in North Carolina!
Five of these schools will open to students for the very first time. Please join me in welcoming the following schools to our state’s charter movement:
- NC Connections Academy (fully remote statewide charter)
- Warren YES
- Carolina Collegiate
- RYZE Charter
- IDYL-Wake
Our thoughts and prayers are with you as you welcome students back to campus. As always, your work inspires ours.
Dave Machado
Executive Director, North Carolina Coalition for Charter Schools
Above: Shutterstock photo.
