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Center for Education Reform 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.

Feb 26
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Kentucky Supreme Court overturns state’s charter law

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The Kentucky Supreme Court last week voted to overturn state law allowing charter schools, noting that public funding for charters was unconstitutional.

This ruling is really rather remarkable in 2026, but it illustrates what we often say. Public charter schools are politically fragile, and they need a strong defender. This is precisely why the Coalition was created, and it is really what drives our advocacy work.

Amazingly, three states –Vermont, South Dakota, and Nebraska — do not even have laws allowing charter schools. Montana and North Dakota recently passed laws allowing charters. (Read more from Education Week.)

To be clear, in Kentucky the charter movement never really got off the ground. Although state law allowed charters, as noted above, the state had not launchd even one charter school. As the Center for Education Reform summed up, Kentucky’s “statute allowed only two jurisdictions to authorize charter schools and, critically, never provided meaningful funding. It was a law in name only — a framework designed to appear reform-minded without actually empowering families or enabling schools to open and thrive.”

Public funding was the sticking point. The Court affirmed in its decision that state funds “are for common schools and for nothing else,” the Associated Press noted in its coverage.

Following the Court’s decision, the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools issued a strongly-worded press release, noting:

“Today, in the most poorly reasoned legal opinion in the 35 years of the charter school movement, the Kentucky Supreme Court overturned the state’s charter school law. As a result, Kentucky students will have fewer high-quality public school options, a tragedy in a state where only one-in-three fourth grade students can read at grade level. The results are even worse for low-income students and students of color.

The sweeping Court decision not only prevents the creation of public charter schools in Kentucky, it also imperils some of the state’s highest-performing public schools and specialty schools. The Court’s reasoning for blocking charter schools calls into serious question the constitutionality of the Gatton Academy at Western Kentucky University, the Craft Academy at Morehead State University, the Model Laboratory School at Eastern Kentucky University, magnet schools serving nearly 50,000 students, the Kentucky School for the Deaf, and the Kentucky School for the Blind because of their admissions policies.

We will keep fighting for Kentucky families until every child, everywhere, can attend a great public school that meets their unique needs,” said Starlee Coleman, President & CEO, National Alliance for Public Charter Schools.

Read more from the Alliance. See articles about the Court’s decision from the Associated Press, The Hill, Forbes, or the Center for Education Reform.

Above: Shutterstock photo.

Mar 19
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Apply for the Yass Prize in Education by April 18!

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Have you considered applying for the Yass Prize? Known as the “Pulitzer of Education,” the Yass Prize and related STOP awards recognize educators who provide students with an education that aligns with the STOP acronym (sustainable, transformational, outstanding, and permissionless).

The grand prize award is worth $1 million. In addition to the grand prize, the Yass Foundation recognizes nine finalists and 40 semifinalists with STOP awards.

Applications are due by 12 p.m. on Thursday, April 18, 2024.

Yass Prize Graphic Source: Yass Foundation

Feb 06
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New Summit Invite: Join us March 7-8!

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Please join us for the Coalition’s 2024 Charter Advocacy Summit in Raleigh on March 7-8! We share our new Summit invitation below, with information on our confirmed speakers and session topics. You won’t want to miss it, as we’ll cover lots of information–from impacts of new legislation, to shifts in funding–that will help YOUR school.
We’ll honor State Superintendent Catherine Truitt and members of the N.C. General Assembly at our evening reception on Thursday, March 7. National advocate and reformer Jeanne Allen, the founder and CEO of the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Education Reform, will headline our Summit luncheon on Friday, March 8.

Other Summit speakers include these leaders:

-Senator Amy Galey

-Senator Steve Jarvis

-Representative Jeff Zenger

-Karen Fairley, Executive Director, Center for Safer Schools

-Dr. Jason Wray, Superintendent, Paul R. Brown Leadership Academy

-Ashley Baquero, Director, Office of Charter Schools

-Bruce Friend, Chair, Charter Schools Review Board

… as well as other key industry leaders and charter stakeholders!
Learn more about session speakers and panels by reviewing the Summit agenda.
Register for the Summit here.
Book your hotel room at the Raleigh Marriott Crabtree Valley here.
Don’t wait to register: The early bird discount on Summit registration ends Thursday, Feb. 15, and so does the guaranteed group rate on hotel rooms!