A team from Pine Springs Preparatory Academy with members of the St. Charles School community in Tanzania. PSPA team members traveled to Tanzania in 2025 to serve local schools, and their global service is highlighted in the new charter report. Photo courtesy of Kristen Favia/PSPA.
The state’s new 2025 Annual Charter Schools Report is out! The North Carolina Charter Schools Review Board approved the report last week. Now, the report heads to the State Board of Education and later, to the General Assembly.
What’s a top-line takeaway from the report? Numbers highlight a growing and thriving charter sector, as evidenced by student enrollment/K-12 market share, the number of charter schools, long-term and recent trends, and national data.
In her presentation to CSRB last week, Ashley Logue, executive director of the Office of Charter Schools, said the report shares data from the 2024-25 school year, along with data on the current year, when available. Some report highlights are below.
Charter enrollment and schools
North Carolina charter schools served 161,057 students during 2025-26, representing 10.5% of public school market share in the state. At the beginning of the school year, 213 charter schools operated statewide–a high water mark, according to the presentation. However, CSRB closed two charter schools mid-year, so 211 charter schools operated this spring.
Screenshot from Ashley Logue’s presentation to CSRB.
At the beginning of this school year, 138 charter schools reported over 59,000 students on waitlists. As the report notes, some names may be duplicates, as students may be on more than one waitlist.
North Carolina’s charter sector has attracted national attention for rapid growth. Logue cited an enrollment brief from the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, tracking trends across the country between 2019-20 and 2024-25. That brief found that North Carolina had the fourth-fastest growing charter enrollment in the nation, behind only Texas, Florida, and California.
Screenshot from Logue’s presentation to CSRB.
Demographics, academic performance, and more
The annual report also includes information on charter student demographics and academic performance. Charter schools in North Carolina serve a higher percentage of white and Black students, and lower percentages of Hispanic students, compared to traditional district schools.
Charter schools are also making small improvements in school performance grades and with academic growth–and are seeing decreases in the percentage of low performing schools.
Remote charter academies continue to grow in number, with 10 operating across the state during this school year. Nineteen are expected to operate in 2026-27.
Charter school spotlights
The end of the annual report includes information that spotlights “best practices and innovation” among our state’s charter schools. Congratulations to all of the charter schools and leaders named in the report!
Here are some of the entries from Coalition member schools.
- School turnaround and academic achievement: Paul R. Brown Leadership Academy and Central Wake High School
- National recognition and awards: Northeast Academy for Aerospace & Advanced Technologies (NEAAAT) and TMSA Apex, along with numerous charter schools earning Purple Star Awards
- Student achievement and leadership: Moram Hamed from TMSA Triad and Roshan Naik from Pine Lake Preparatory
- Global engagement and service: Pine Springs Preparatory Academy
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