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For 15 years now, National School Choice Week each January has spotlighted the K-12 education options available for students, including traditional public, public charter, public magnet, online, private, and home schooling.
In North Carolina, in 2023-24, 1,549,828 students chose public schools across the state, including local public schools, public charters, lab schools; 131,230 students chose private schools; and an estimated 157,642 students chose homeschools.
“In line with President Trump’s unwavering commitment to expanding school choice and ensuring all American students have access to high-quality education,” the U.S. Department of Education, according to a press release, is celebrating the following this week:
More than 14 million students across the country who are educated outside of traditional public schools and benefit from education options and freedom;
Parents who know their children best and fight for education solutions that work best for their families;
Teachers who partner with parents to meet the individual learning needs of students, whether in microschools, magnet schools, public charter schools, or private schools;
Education entrepreneurs and innovators who are breaking through the education bureaucracy to put students and families first and to disrupt the status quo; and
24 states that have expanded educational opportunities in the last three years, ensuring that four in 10 U.S. students now qualify for a school choice program.
U.S. Department of Education press release
The federal department has updated its school choice webpage.
Mike Long, the president of Parents for Educational Freedom North Carolina (PEFNC), said in an op-ed published in the North State Journal, “Our state’s diverse educational landscape is a testament to the commitment of families, educators and policymakers who believe that one size does not fit all in education.”
Public charter schools
In North Carolina, in 2023-24, 145,470 students chose the 211 charters across the state, according to the N.C. Department of Public Instruction (DPI).
Meet Superintendent Cheryl Turner, who leads Sugar Creek Charter
“Nearly 100% of the students enrolled at the Charlotte public charter school I lead are economically disadvantaged and non-white. Many come from tough backgrounds,” says Cheryl Turner, the superintendent of Sugar Creek Charter School.
“Their parents entrust their children’s education — their children’s future — to Sugar Creek Charter School,” she says.
Why do the parents choose the charter school?
Because of educators like Ryan Henderson, the 2023 Charter School Teacher of the Year, says the superintendent.
“I look at my own children, and I see my children in these children,” Henderson says. “When I walk up and down these hallways, I see my people. I see an opportunity to help my people.”
Because of Sugar Creek Charter’s mission to eradicate intergenerational poverty by providing a rigorous education, says the superintendent.
Because of the elementary schoolers, whose grade level reading proficiency outperforms peer subgroups by double digits, says the superintendent.
“This — offering an excellent education that builds hope and opportunity — is the essence of public charter schools like the one I lead,” she says.
State legislators participate in charter school tours and read-alouds
To celebrate National School Choice Week, PEFNC invited state legislators to visit schools, read a book to students, and participate in classroom and school tours.
During these visits, legislators met students “who benefit from North Carolina’s educational options, gaining first-hand insights into the transformative impact of school choice programs,” according to a press release.
Rep. Erin Paré, R-Wake, visited RISE Charter School in Raleigh; Sen. Brad Overcash, R-Gaston, visited Gaston Christian School in Gastonia; and Sen. Val Applewhite, D-Cumberland, visited Grace Community School in Fayetteville.
2025 Raleigh Student Showcase
On Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025, at 11 a.m. to celebrate National School Choice Week, the North Carolina Association for Public Charter Schools will host a student showcase at the Fletcher Opera Theatre at Martin Marietta Center for the Performing Arts.
This event will feature students in a variety of performances and will highlight student art in a show titled “Why School Choice is Important to Me.”
Dave Machado to lead NC Coalition for Charter Schools effective Feb. 1
The N.C. Coalition for Charter Schools recently announced in a press release that Lindalyn Kakadelis, the co-founder and long-serving executive director of the organization, is retiring after more than 30 years as a North Carolina education policy leader and advocate.
“This organization would not exist without Lindalyn, and the charter school landscape in North Carolina would not be what it is today without the decades of advocacy she has poured into it,” Jonathan Bryant, chair of the coalition’s Board of Directors, said. “Lindalyn’s work has touched the lives of tens of thousands of students, many of whom will never know it.”
Thank you, Lindalyn, for your public service.
Dave Machado will succeed Kakadelis as executive director of the coalition effective Feb. 1, according to the press release. Machado served as chief administrator of Lincoln Charter School from 2002 to 2016. He led the DPI’s Office of Charter Schools from 2016 to 2020. Since 2020, Machado has been North Carolina State Superintendent for Charter Schools USA. He also served as a member of the state’s Charter Schools Advisory Board, now Charter Schools Review Board, from 2022 until his resignation given the job transition.
“I’m excited to lead the Coalition into this next chapter as we continue to protect and promote North Carolina’s public charter schools, educators, parents, and students,” said Machado.
