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NC Department of Public Instruction Archives - North Carolina Coalition for Charter Schools

Sep 22
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NC College Connect portal is open for 2026-27

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The NC College Connect portal opened last week for the 2026-27 college admissions cycle. Many of you are familiar with this program, but we wanted to be sure you have access to the latest information and resources.

The Department of Public Instruction (DPI) announced the portal’s opening in a press release last Tuesday. Here’s more from that release:

NC College Connect, now in its third year, directly admits North Carolina public high school seniors to participating colleges and universities based on their academic record at the start of senior year. Every senior on track to graduate is admitted to their local community college, regardless of grade point average. Seniors who begin their senior year with a weighted grade point average of at least 2.8 and are enrolled in a fourth-level math course receive offers from participating UNC System universities and independent colleges as well. The higher a student’s GPA, the more offers they receive.

Participating institutions include 11 UNC System universities, all 58 North Carolina community colleges and 29 North Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities.

High school seniors should now be able to access their College Foundation of North Carolina (CFNC) account to see which institutions have admitted them.

According to DPI, “This year, every senior on track to graduate is eligible, and more than 95 percent of all current 12th graders in North Carolina public schools are receiving an offer.”

View more statistics about program participation in DPI’s press release.

Additional information

Above: Shutterstock photo.

Jan 27
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Meet the 2026 NC Charter School Teacher of the Year

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Stephanie Lane (left) and her 2025-26 class of first graders at Lake Norman Charter School, along with teaching assistant Cindy Tilley. Photos courtesy of Stephanie Lane.

Stephanie Lane, a first grade teacher at Lake Norman Charter School (LNC) in Huntersville, is the 2026 North Carolina Charter School Teacher of the Year. In this role, she is also one of nine finalists in the running for the statewide Teacher of the Year honor, which will be announced later this spring.

 Lane, who has worked at LNC for nine years, actually began her career in pharmacy retail management. But a strong sense of calling and pull to education fueled a mid-career transition.

Kristen Blair, the Coalition’s communications director, recently caught up with Lane to hear about her professional background, her passion for helping students belong, and her hopes and goals for her role as the Charter School Teacher of the Year.

Coalition: When did you realize you wanted to be a teacher?  

Stephanie Lane: I’ve always had education in my blood. I come from a family of educators. My mom was an assistant principal at a public school; my aunts and uncle were educators.

I came to education through a transition in my career. I was in pharmacy retail management, but my bucket wasn’t being filled daily. I felt like I needed to follow where my heart was leading me. So, I tested the waters at an area preschool and taught Pre-K there. I came over to Lake Norman Charter as the after school director, using the management experience I had from my time in retail pharmacy. I was getting my toes wet in education again!

It came alive for me that this was my calling, and it has just evolved from there. I’ve been here for nine years. After starting as the Knights Kids director, I went back to UNC-Charlotte and got my master’s in teaching. I’ve been in the classroom as a licensed teacher for six years.

What drew you to Lake Norman Charter and the charter school world?

Lane: Lake Norman Charter was just the right time, the right place, for me to start. I honestly didn’t know what I was getting into or how good it was going to be here. At the time, they were just expanding K-4, and my daughter was entering kindergarten. She and I had been together at the preschool and Pre-K, and I thought, “Wow, that would be so cool if I move over with her.”

What I did not realize is that I was getting a gold star community and family. Lake Norman Charter is so special because the culture here is built around family.

What is your ethos of education, and how does the charter model impact your classroom teaching? 

Lane: My teaching philosophy is really just that I want to build a classroom community where students feel like they belong and they find joy in learning. Everything I do is for that purpose. It isn’t a cookie cutter plan every day. I have 20 six-year-olds looking at me, and they all have different feelings and needs.

There’s the social-emotional side of it—meeting their needs and letting them know that this is a safe space for them. But they’re also all in such different places academically. So, that responsive teaching piece is key, specifically in this charter school space. It’s a revolving door of asking every day, what do these children need? It isn’t always the same. It’s taking a look every day at what is going on in the classroom, pulling data from the things we’ve done, and then using that data to shape what I’m going to do tomorrow. I use data a lot, and I am passionate about data, but it isn’t a label. It’s a roadmap: What can I do with that data, and what does that data teach me about these children?

Charters allow us to design our instruction to be responsive—to look at the data, use it to drive our instruction, and be deeply collaborative. The creative side of me has just exploded. To me, charters have that combined public responsibility and professional trust to be innovative and creative in how we teach students.

You’ve said before that you work to create an environment of belonging for your students. Why, in your view, is belonging so important, and what does that look like in your classroom?

Lane: My first year of teaching was during Covid, so being innovative was at a whole new level. Those children were not in front of my face, and I was struggling with how to connect with them and meet their needs. We put some special things in place, like buddy lunch dates on Zoom or driving by their homes as a parade. When they came back into the classroom, it was such a sweet moment of, wow, we’re actually all here together. From that point, it was about keeping that culture alive.

I had one student come back from [holiday] break and say, “This feels like home.” That’s what I love the most, and it’s such an amazing thing to hear. That’s what we’re driving for: community and that sense of belonging and joy.

I also realized that I need to belong as a teacher just as much as I need these kids to feel like they belong in my classroom. That was the big epiphany that defined who I was as a teacher. So, I am an avid supporter of mentoring relationships. I love that they often become co-mentoring relationships, benefiting both the mentor and the mentee. I have flourished with the relationships I have with educators in my building. We’re better together, and we’ve created some great systems here. Everything is about helping each other for the sole purpose of meeting students’ needs.

Why is first grade so critical across a student’s arc of learning?

Lane: First grade is amazing. I love that students have a year under their belt when they come to first grade. They understand what school is, and how to survive the day. We can hit the ground running when they step into the classroom in August.

Students go from sounding out CVC [consonant-vowel-consonant] words to then reading beginning chapter books. They go from struggling to write one sentence to writing paragraphs about polar bears and bats and all the fun things.

It’s exciting for me to see students’ love for learning blossom at this grade level. I think it’s so important that we grab them in this season and make learning fun. I always tell the students in my class, “Together we make learning fun.” It isn’t just them; it isn’t just me. We have to all be in it together.

They come to school in first grade, and they’re ready to learn, and they love it. Hopefully that builds those relationships and ideas around learning that they carry with them as they continue to grow.

In December you learned you had been named North Carolina’s 2026 Charter School Teacher of the Year as well as a regional finalist for the statewide Teacher of the Year honor. What was that experience like?

Lane: It was very overwhelming. You look at the people around you, and you think, why me? It could have been any person I work with.

It’s an honor and it’s very humbling—but it’s also weighty. It isn’t just a title; it’s a responsibility to represent educators. That’s exciting but overwhelming—at this point, at least.

What do you hope to accomplish as you represent the state’s charter schools and students this year?  

Lane: I’m really excited to be a part of that cohort of regional teachers and work with another team. I’ve heard some amazing things about what we’ll be able to do. We’ve talked about my love of collaboration, so the idea of collaborating with another team of people for the greater good of education is exciting to me.

In addition, it’s awesome to know that I’m representing the North Carolina charter teachers in this way.

I grew up in Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools, so I am also eager to see the wonderful things happening in the public school system. That collaboration piece of seeing what’s happening and working together makes us all better.

What is your favorite charter school moment?

Lane: That’s a tough one! How do you narrow it down to one thing?

Words of affirmation are my love language, so just seeing the support and the love this past month has been completely overwhelming and amazing. It’s something I’m trying to soak in.

The best moments are really just the everyday moments. It’s the notes that the kids write. It’s the hugs every morning. It’s the student saying, “This feels like home.” Lake Norman Charter truly is a family. It’s special, and it’s something you can’t find everywhere—but I really wish you could. Everybody deserves a school like this.

 Is there anything I didn’t ask that you believe is an important part of this conversation?

Lane: I appreciate you asking that question! I just want to take this seriously. This [role] is a responsibility to be a voice for teachers. I hope I do it well. It’s going to be a journey. But I am completely humbled, and I’m excited to see the amazing things that can come from it.

Read the Jan. 27 press release from the Department of Public Instruction announcing Teacher of the Year finalists. Learn more about Stephanie Lane from the Charlotte Observer or Lake Norman Publications.

Jul 02
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Thirteen charter schools seek to open in 2025 and 2026

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Thirteen North Carolina charter applicants are hoping to open schools in 2025 or 2026. The Department of Public Instruction (DPI) announced the outcome of the 2024 application cycle in a press release on June 27. Two of the 13 charter applicants seek to open in 2025 on an accelerated timeline. The other 11 applicants hope to open in 2026.

See the list of 2024 applications. The application process to open a new charter school in North Carolina is extensive and involves myriad components.

DPI’s press release noted:

Each applicant paid a $1,000 application fee and conducted criminal background checks on all proposed board members. In addition, applicants provided a detailed description of the proposed school’s mission, governance, education, operational, and financial plans … All applications then underwent a mandatory completeness check phase. Each application deemed complete is then assigned to external evaluators before being distributed to the NC Charter Schools Review Board (CSRB) for review.

Members of the Charter Review Board are reviewing applications over the summer, with applicant interviews slated to begin in September.

The 2024 charter applicants hope to open in the following 8 counties:

  • Wake (3 applicants)
  • Mecklenburg (1 applicant)
  • Guilford (1 applicant)
  • Chatham (1 applicant)
  • Forsyth (1 applicant)
  • Union (1 applicant)
  • Iredell (1 applicant)
  • Warren (1 applicant)
  • Statewide (3 applicants for remote schools)

The year ahead for charter schools

When the 2024-25 school year launches next month, 210 charter schools will open their doors to students. During the 2023-24 year, more than 140,000 students attended charter schools, with an additional 85,000+ student names on charter waitlists. Two new charter schools will open for the 2024-25 school year; this past year, state leaders closed two charter schools.

Charter schools are free, public, and open to all. Like district schools, public charter schools receive their funding from state, federal, and local dollars.

Feb 01
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New 2024 Charter School Principal of the Year

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Dr. Sarena Fuller is the 2024 NC Charter School Principal of the Year. Photo credit: ArtSpace Charter School.

Dr. Sarena Fuller, the executive director of ArtSpace Charter School in Asheville, is the new 2024 Charter School Principal of the Year. The Department of Public Instruction on January 25 announced Dr. Fuller’s distinction in a press release naming eight other Regional Principals of the Year. All nine school leaders will go on to compete for the statewide distinction of Wells Fargo Principal of the Year, awarded on May 24.

In DPI’s release, State Superintendent Catherine Truitt stated:

Principals are challenged with creating a culture of excellence and advocating for both students and teachers. Though these nine regional Principals of the Year are from diverse backgrounds and different areas of the state, what they have in common is an unwavering commitment to improving student outcomes and making an impact on their communities.

DPI’s release also included this summary of Dr. Fuller:

After nearly two decades in education, Fuller has developed a leadership philosophy guided by the doctrine of charity. By assuming the best intentions and building a culture of trust, her school has been able to avoid the staffing shortages that many others face.

“Truly, the school operates as a dynamic ecosystem, each part of each process depending on another to function well,” she said. “By their nature, educators are some of the most generous, creative, compassionate, hard-working people I know. I see my job as a school leader to support, empower and serve them in a way that allows them to thrive, for it is then that they do their best work for students.”

ArtSpace had a banner year in 2022-23 under Fuller’s leadership. The school was recognized as an ESEA National Distinguished School for its work with students with disabilities, its middle school team won the “Team to Watch” award from the NC Middle Level Educators Association and the school was a semifinalist in the national IMPACT Award in Innovation.

Congratulations, Dr. Fuller! We celebrate your leadership–and its impact on our state’s charter schools.

Nov 14
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For schools, safety is the ‘number one job’

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A new Parent Engagement Committee, with a charter parent and law enforcement expert on board, is at the ready

On October 27, the Center for Safer Schools (CFSS) launched its timely new Parent Engagement Committee, featuring district and charter parents from each of the state’s eight education regions. Committee members will advise Karen Fairley, the executive director at CFSS, and will help develop school safety recommendations for state policymakers. The new committee moves forward with a highly qualified charter parent for whom the Coalition advocated: law enforcement expert Ed Carter, whose 6th grade daughter has attended Classical Charter Schools of Southport (CCSS) since kindergarten.

Advising policymakers on school safety is work Carter is fully prepared to do. A former deputy sheriff, police officer, and U.S. Air Force law enforcement specialist, he has considerable experience working in schools.

“I’ve been in law enforcement since 1995, so almost 30 years,” Carter says. “Early in my career as a law enforcement officer, I served as a school resource officer at a high school. So, I’ve had some experience in dealing with the safe schools issues.” He has also served on the board of the North Carolina Association of School Resource Officers. As his career advanced, he began training SROs.

Since his retirement in 2020, Carter has stayed on as a trainer. “I’m one of the guys that helps new officers to be school resource officers and I also continue to educate the guys that are in place,” he says.

Students and staff from Classical Charter Schools of America, a network of public charter schools. Photo credit: CCSS.

Addressing campus disparities—and understanding community context

He’ll leverage his considerable experience as he looks for ways to improve school safety statewide. What’s top of mind for him right now? Carter is concerned about campus disparities—in SRO utilization, incident reporting, and emergency response protocols.

“SRO engagement and involvement is a big ticket right now because that’s a fairly inconsistent thing across the state,” he says. “One school system may use officers this way while another may use them another way.” Disparities in reporting complicate matters further. “I would like to clean that up so if an officer goes from this classical charter school to another charter school, they’ll be on the same playing field. There has got to be some bridge-building and information-sharing going on,” he adds.

Basic, shared safety protocols are also essential. “We’re going to be following the same protocol regardless of the property,” Carter says of the response from law enforcement. “If there’s any difference in how the charter is doing it versus what we expect to see happen, that’s going to be a huge hindrance.”

Understanding community context is critical too. “One thing that is really important from the officer perspective—and this is true for any school, whether it’s a charter or Christian or [traditional] public school—is that school is always going to be a reflection of the demographic that feeds into [it],” he says.

Providing ‘really important representation for the charter system’

CCSS Headmaster Bill Stidham has seen firsthand how valuable Carter’s expertise can be in securing school safety resources and strengthening protocols. Last year, when an incident occurred on CCSS’ campus, the school did not have a funded SRO, which fueled a drop in enrollment. Carter helped Stidham apply successfully for a grant to fund one. Carter’s informed perspective on the new committee will be invaluable, Stidham believes, especially given funding disparities between district and charter schools.

“His involvement on our campus and his eye through a law enforcement lens has really helped with putting structures in place,” Stidham says. “To have that voice at a state level representing charter schools—[given] the disparity between what a public school for each county gets, versus what is appropriated for charter schools—will provide really important representation for the charter school system.”

Baker Mitchell, the founder of Classical Charter Schools of America—the charter network of which CCSS is a part—is hopeful that the new committee will be comprehensive in its scope and mindful of charter autonomy in its recommendations. “Safety in the law enforcement aspect has its vital role; but in a school’s day to day operations, other areas also need attention and demand awareness with reporting protocols,” he says. Facility repairs, dangerous weather events, health hazards: These, and others, all fall within the scope of administrators’ safety concerns. “Safety must have the broadest definition possible,” he affirms, “with flexibility for charters to customize their response to fit their local communities.”

In the end, the mandate for schools is clear. “We have to portray to the community that we have safety measures in place to keep their children safe from the moment they get here to the moment they go home,” Stidham notes.

“Safety is our number one job,” he adds.

Classical Charter Schools of Southport is a 600-student, K-8 school located between Southport and Supply in Brunswick County, North Carolina, and has been part of the Classical Charter Schools of America network since 2015.  The school recently celebrated construction of a new auditorium and gymnasium and launched its inaugural 8th grade class this fall.

Jun 27
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Dept. of Public Instruction Announces New Parent Safety Committee

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Last week, the Center for Safer Schools (CFSS) at the N.C. Department of Public Instruction announced the formation of a new statewide parent advisory board on school safety. Known as the Parent Engagement Committee, the group will include 24 parents (two district school parents and one charter school parent from each of the state’s eight education regions). The committee is modeled after the Superintendent’s current Parent Advisory Commission, DPI noted.

Parents to provide input for policymakers, elected officials

“Members will share their aspirations for and discuss challenges within the K-12 education system, helping to put together recommendations for elected officials and policymakers in North Carolina, and provide direct input to CFSS Executive Director Karen W. Fairley,” DPI indicated in a press release.

We encourage parents to apply! Turnaround for applications is fast: Applications must be submitted by Friday, July 7.

Notifications to selected parent committee members will go out on Friday, July 28. Find the Parent Engagement Committee application here. Please note that parents must also submit a reference from an educator or public figure (county commissioner, member of the local chamber of commerce, etc.) with their completed application.

Questions? Email cfss@dpi.nc.gov.
Sep 02
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Ashley Baquero Named as Director of the Office of Charter Schools

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Earlier today, State Superintendent Catherine Truitt named Ashley Baquero as the new director of the Office of Charter Schools. She’ll begin September 6. The Coalition’s spotlight of Ashley is below.

Meet Ashley Baquero

A former teacher and advocate for disadvantaged students will lead OCS

Ashley Baquero is the new director of OCS.

The state’s new director of the Office of Charter Schools brings hands-on classroom experience and a diverse skillset to her role. A member of the OCS team since 2018, Ashley Baquero first began working with the state’s charter school office as an education planning and development consultant. But as she steps into the director role this fall, she’ll also draw on her professional background as a former attorney, Teach for America alum, and teacher of disadvantaged students.

 Ashley’s educational ethos is fueled by this core conviction: Everyone, regardless of background, deserves access to a good education. Her perspective has been shaped indelibly by personal experience. “I grew up with a single parent; neither of my parents was a college graduate,” she says. “I knew that education was the route to progressing as a person, from what you’re born into, so that has always been extremely important to me.”

Education for Ashley included a B.A. from Eckerd College as well as a law degree from the University of Florida. However, subsequent work as an attorney left her unfulfilled, prompting reflection about what she enjoyed. Her epiphany launched a career in education. “It always came back to teaching, which is how I got directed into TFA,” she says.

‘There is no one-size-fits-all educational program’

As a TFA corps member, Ashley taught at a Title I district school in Atlanta, later heading to a grant-funded private school in Clarkston, Georgia, to work with refugee students. In 2015, she moved to Durham, North Carolina, to teach at Maureen Joy Charter School.

Working at schools with high numbers of disadvantaged students bolstered her support for choice. “I believe parents know best, and that every child should have the chance to attend a school that provides a high-quality education,” she says. “There is no one-size-fits-all educational program.”

For charters, greater visibility—and opportunity

Across her seven years in North Carolina, Ashley has seen the state’s charter movement change substantially. The pandemic has accelerated shifts. The movement “has become more visible,” she says. “That can have its pros and cons. As everyone knows, charter schools can be a controversial or political topic. But the growth of parental choice and the movement to charter schools during the pandemic are undeniable.”

Such visibility makes accurate messaging essential. It’s even more important, she says, to ensure “we’re telling accurate stories about charter schools and highlighting the innovations and great things that are happening.” The public needs to understand why families are choosing charter schools.

Heightened visibility is also creating opportunities for charter schools. “Everyone, especially a parent, is thinking: What does education look like for my child, post-Covid, as we progress into this different phase? Charters have a really important role in that conversation—and in helping parents understand the charter community and whether it is a good fit for them,” Ashley says.

Shifting the conversation: Are you for kids?

In addition to sharing accurate information, charters could also have a role in framing the discussion. But there are hurdles ahead: “Often, especially with charter schools, the conversation isn’t about what’s impacting kids. It’s focused on adults or it’s political,” Ashley says. “But it should be about students—about how choice is opening up opportunity for them and impacting their lives.”

“I would love to see a time when the conversation isn’t, ‘Are you for charter schools? Or are you for traditional public schools?’” she adds. “Instead, we should be asking, ‘Are you for kids? Are you for student opportunity?’ I want to open doors for that kind of understanding.”

 At OCS, Ashley says she’ll work to improve access to charter schools and provide help for schools that need it. Equity for charters is also important to her. “I want charter schools to get the support they need—and ensure they’re treated fairly,” she says.

What does she wish charter operators knew about her? “One of my strengths is listening to different viewpoints and trying to find a common thread—bringing opposing viewpoints together to find commonality,” she adds.

“That’s what I want to do with charter schools.”