How diverse are charter schools in Cumberland County? More than others in NC, report shows
The two charter schools in Cumberland County are more diverse than similar schools across the state, school and state records show.
About half the state’s 130,000 charter students are white, according to a report by the state Board of Education and Department of Public Instruction. Twenty-six percent are Black, and 13% are Hispanic, the report said.
Charter schools receive public funding but are operated by independent, nonprofit boards. They have more freedom from regulation than traditional public schools, but must meet state standards, according to the Department of Instruction office that oversees them.
In Cumberland County, both charter schools have a lower percentage of white students. The heads of both Alpha Academy and the Capitol Encore Academy say diversity is an important part of their schools.
STEM and the Arts
Alpha Academy, which has been open since 2000, has a Katherine G. Johnson STEM Institute that is named after the pioneering NASA mathematician. It also offers classes with college credit and trains students to get certified as drone pilots, plumbers, welders or paramedics.
The Capitol Encore Academy focuses on the arts with a mission to “develop artists who inspire others with principles of design and artful thinking through the integration of academic excellence, virtuous character and disciplined artistry,” according to its website.
More: The number of students in Cumberland County Schools is down. How will that affect funding?
More: Fayetteville students train to become drone pilots at Alpha Academy
About 60% of students at Alpha Academy on Raeford Road are Black, 19% are Hispanic, and 10% are white, according to the school’s website.
At the Capitol Encore Academy on Hay Street, 37% of the students are Black, 36% are white, and 12% Hispanic, according to its website.
The diversity at Capitol Encore closely resembles Cumberland County, according to Gerard Falls, the school’s director. That was one of the school’s goals from its founding in 2014, he said.
“Not many schools in Cumberland County reflect the county,” he said.
Eugene Slocum, superintendent at Alpha Academy, said the diverse nature of the school helps attract parents who want their children to receive a well-rounded education.
“When you have a school of choice, the choice is not for the school to select the students, but for the parents to select the school,” he said.
Expanding into high school
Slocum said Alpha held its first graduation this year. Three of the 12 graduates had been at the school since kindergarten, he said.
Alpha, which has about 950 students, had students through eighth grade, but parents had asked for the school to expand, Slocum said.
“The kids wanted to stay,” he said.
Falls said Capitol Encore plans to expand into high school over the next few years. The school initially opened eight years ago in the former Capitol department store building in downtown Fayetteville.
Capitol Encore, which had about 610 students this year and expects to have about 730 next year, expanded into a building next door that was connected to the original facility when it was renovated, Falls said. The school purchased a building on Mason Street that is about a three-minute walk away, he said.
The new building will have students in seventh through 10th grades next year and ninth through 12th grades the following year, Falls said.
The two academies are among 204 charter schools operating in North Carolina, with eight more expected to open in the fall. Charter schools have grown in popularity, but still only have about 8.8% of public school students in the state.
In Cumberland County, about 2.9% of students attend charter schools.
The amount of state funding going to charter schools in North Carolina has increased from a little more than $144 million in the 2006-07 school year to more than $900 million for the year ending this month.
Local news editor Steve DeVane can be reached at sdevane@fayobserver.com.
This article was published in partnership with EdNC.org, an independent, nonprofit source of news, data, and analysis about education for the people of North Carolina.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Charter schools in Cumberland County more diverse than others in state
