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Alpha Academy Archives - North Carolina Coalition for Charter Schools

Sep 14
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‘Captain Character’: Alpha Academy’s Eugene Slocum in ‘The Education Avengers’

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The Education Avengers gather at Forbes on September 8. Eugene Slocum stands at far right holding The Shield. Photos and captions courtesy of Alpha Academy.

Eugene Slocum, the superintendent of Alpha Academy, a public charter school in Fayetteville, NC, is a featured educator in Jeanne Allen’s new book, “The Education Avengers.” The founder and CEO of the Center for Education Reform, Allen has dubbed Slocum “Captain Character.”

We’re very proud of him and want to share this article below, submitted by his friend Barbara O’Neal.

Alpha Academy’s Eugene Slocum Earns National Recognition

North Carolina charter school leader celebrated as Captain Character among America’s Education Avengers

For Eugene Slocum, education has always been about more than academic achievement. It is also about developing young people who are prepared to lead, serve, and make responsible choices. That commitment has earned the Fayetteville educator national recognition in Jeanne Allen’s new book, The Education Avengers: How and Why a New Class of Heroes Is Fighting America’s Biggest Battle.

Slocum, founder and longtime leader of Alpha Academy, a North Carolina public charter school in Fayetteville, is featured as “Captain Character.” His symbolic artifact is The Shield, representing the responsibility educators carry to protect opportunity and cultivate character in the lives of children.

Eugene Slocum at right with Steve Forbes.

On September 8, Slocum joined the other Education Avengers with Steve Forbes for a celebration honoring educators, parents, entrepreneurs, and community leaders who saw a need and acted. Each honoree received an artifact connected to the story told in the book.

The recognition places Slocum among 12 educators, parents, entrepreneurs, and community leaders profiled by Allen for refusing to accept that children’s futures should be limited by circumstances, conventional expectations, or educational systems that fail to meet their needs. The publisher describes the book as a collection of stories about people who encountered problems others regarded as inevitable and decided to act instead.

Slocum’s recognition reflects the mission he has advanced at Alpha Academy in Fayetteville, North Carolina. The school emphasizes academic rigor, leadership, service, and character development, encouraging students to reach their highest potential and become model citizens.

Allen summarizes the larger message of The Education Avengers with a fitting declaration: “Heroes aren’t born. They’re summoned.” For Eugene Slocum, the summons came through education. And he answered it.

*This post has been updated since its publication.

Apr 29
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Congratulations to the 15 charters earning Purple Star Awards

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Congratulations to the 15 charter schools that are Purple Star Award recipients for 2025-26! According to the Department of Public Instruction (DPI), award-winning schools “demonstrate military-friendly practices and a commitment to military students and families.” DPI launched the award during the 2019-20 school year.

DPI recognized the Purple Star schools at a ceremony on April 24. Statewide, nearly 600 schools received the award for 2025-26. See this year’s list of awardees.

These are the 15 charter schools earning Purple Star Awards for 2025-26:

  • Alpha Academy
  • Anderson Creek Academy
  • The Academy of Moore County
  • Ascend Leadership Academy
  • The Math & Science Academy of Apex
  • Neuse Charter School
  • North Carolina Cyber Academy
  • Northeast Academy for Aerospace & Advanced Technologies (NEAAAT)
  • The NC Leadership Charter Academy
  • Pine Springs Preparatory Academy
  • Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy: A Challenge Foundation
  • TMSA Charlotte Elementary
  • Triangle Math and Science Academy
  • Wayne Preparatory Academy
  • Wayne Stem Academy

Alpha Academy and Anderson Creek Academy also received legacy plaques, according to DPI’s release. Both schools have received the Purple Star Award all seven years of the program’s existence. In addition, NEAAAT  earned a legacy plaque for six consecutive years of Purple Star recognition.

In a news release, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Mo Green said:

I’m thrilled to honor the record number of Purple Star schools and districts for their dedication supporting military-connected students throughout their educational journey … Your work supporting military-connected students and their families in North Carolina’s public schools makes a tremendous impact both inside and out of the classroom. It is through efforts like the Purple Star award that North Carolina’s public schools become the best in the nation.

Learn more about the Purple Star Award here.

*This post has been updated.

Jul 10
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Senate Bill 559 becomes law, providing charters with additional State Health Plan opportunity

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S.B. 559, which creates a new opportunity for charter schools to participate in the State Health Plan, is now state law. The General Assembly ratified S.B. 559 on June 28, and the Governor signed the bill (now Session Law 2024-42) on Monday.

Prior to passage of S.B. 559, charter schools wishing to participate in the State Health Plan after two years of operation had to go through the General Assembly. Now, they may apply directly to the State Health Plan’s board, expediting and simplifying the application process. In addition, the new law specifically provides for four named charter schools to join the State Health Plan this school year–a remarkable result of effective and expeditious advocacy!

The Coalition worked hard to secure this bipartisan legislative victory for the state’s charter schools, with lobbyist Lee Teague leading charter advocacy efforts on S.B. 559. Lee ensured the bill cleared an array of hurdles and moved at breakneck speed so our schools could have the provision in place for 2024.

Securing a legislative victory requires advocacy work on many fronts, and we wanted to share some of them with you below.

Strategic and tactical, Lee’s advocacy efforts included:

  • Working with Rep. Jeff Zenger to file the bill.
  • Negotiating with the State Treasurer’s Department to secure support.
  • Ensuring schools replied promptly to Fiscal Research for development of the bill’s fiscal impact statement.
  • Moving the language from a House to Senate bill to speed passage.
  • Working to secure agreement from Rep. Carson Smith, chairman of the House Pensions Committee, to hold a committee hearing just for the Coalition’s bill. This is highly unusual!
  • Pushing to get the bill moved from the Senate Rules Committee to the floor.
  • Working to include a provision allowing charters’ future participation in the State Health Plan.
  • Convincing the House to appoint conferees.
  • Ensuring no items were added that could draw a gubernatorial veto. There was no time for an override vote!
  • Working with Sen. Joyce Krawiec to ensure the Senate did not add items the House would reject.

Thank you, Lee, for your capable and sustained advocacy on this bill! We’re also grateful to Rep. Zenger, Rep. Smith, and Sen. Krawiec, who in addition to sponsoring the bill, worked behind the scenes to ensure a unanimous Senate vote.

School leaders react

As mentioned above, the bill enables four charter schools (and Coalition members) to join the State Health Plan for this 2024-25 school year. Those schools are: United Community School, North Carolina Leadership Academy, Alpha Academy, and Durham Charter School.

Tim Hedgepeth, the director of operations for United Community School, said:

We are very thankful to the Coalition for advocating on our behalf to be added to the NC State Health Plan. Lee went above and beyond with his communication and with his drive to see this through. There is no way our school would have successfully got on the State Health Plan this year without the advocacy of the NC Coalition for Charter Schools. It’s good to have this support in Raleigh!

Renee Faenza, the principal at North Carolina Leadership Academy, said:

For our charter school, joining the State Health Plan provides tremendous savings to our staff and allows our school to retain quality teachers! Words cannot express our gratitude!

Eugene Slocum, the CEO and superintendent of Alpha Academy, said:

We’re so appreciative of the Coalition’s effective advocacy in Raleigh, and especially in ensuring Alpha Academy could join the State Health Plan this year. Lee Teague worked tirelessly to secure this outcome, which will now directly benefit our teachers and staff in the upcoming school year. Charter schools have a strong and powerful ally in the Coalition.

Alex Quigley, the executive director at Durham Charter School, said:

Lee Teague has secured a significant legislative victory for Durham Charter School that will directly impact the month-to-month finances of our teachers. By securing S.B. 559, enabling Durham Charter to enter the State Health Plan, he has single-handedly given a raise to almost all of our teachers and enabled many of them to now afford providing quality insurance to their dependents. Lee kept us updated throughout the process and provided specific action steps for us to support him along the way. We’re very grateful for Lee and the Coalition’s leadership, and we believe this bill will pave the way for all charters to eventually have the option of participating in the State Health Plan.

We’re glad that charter schools can now get in to the State Health Plan at any time, but we will continue to seek flexibility for them to exit the State Health Plan as well, if desired.

Read more

  • View Session Law 2024-42. In addition to its provisions impacting the State Health Plan, the new law also addresses parental leave for certain charter school employees.
  • See the Governor’s press release outlining the 12 bills he signed into law on Monday (including S.B. 559). Read an article from WRAL.

*This post has been updated since its publication.

Nov 09
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With one year to go, NC ACCESS is removing barriers to charter attendance

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A new report on the NC ACCESS Program shows it is succeeding in opening up educational opportunities for students. The program, which is allocating nearly $37 million in school-level grants, seeks to remove barriers for educationally disadvantaged students so they can attend charter schools. Funded through the federal Charter Schools Program, the NC ACCESS grant was due to sunset this fall–but has now been extended through September 30, 2024.

At this week’s meeting of the state’s Charter Schools Review Board, members heard a promising update from Dr. Barbara O’Neal of the Office of Charter Schools. Sharing data from a Friday Institute program evaluation, she said she was “really pleased” with results.

NC ACCESS Highlights

  • Last year, the program served over 25,000 educationally disadvantaged students.
  • Since the program’s inception, grants have benefited 62 charter schools.
  • All NC ACCESS schools offer transportation and lunch.
  • Most of the schools are on track to offer a weighted lottery, prioritizing admission for educationally disadvantaged students.
  • 90% of the schools are deemed high-quality schools. O’Neal told Review Board members that her office will be working with low-performing schools this year.

Source: Barbara O’Neal, NC ACCESS Presentation to the Charter Schools Review Board, November 6, 2023.

Leaders from several NC ACCESS schools, including Eugene Slocum of Alpha Academy and Derrick McCullough of Central Carolina Academy (both Coalition member schools), shared updates with the Review Board.