{"id":2828,"date":"2026-06-20T08:34:34","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T08:34:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2828"},"modified":"2026-06-20T08:34:34","modified_gmt":"2026-06-20T08:34:34","slug":"how-effective-are-nc-charter-schools-researchers-to-take-a-deep-look-at-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2828","title":{"rendered":"How effective are NC charter schools? Researchers to take a deep look at them"},"content":{"rendered":"

AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.<\/p>\n

Read our AI Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n

A new state-funded research effort aims to ask the tough questions facing the state\u2019s rapidly growing network of charter schools.<\/p>\n

Read more Curated clothing pop-ups are trending in the Triangle. 5 to visit this weekend<\/a><\/p>\n

The newly formed Carolina Charter School Research Lab will look into charter school policies and practices in North Carolina. This could include looking at how charters are doing compared to traditional public schools, how much does teacher licensure matter and why do some demographic groups not attend charter schools<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not always going to tell you what you want to hear,\u201d Jeni Corn of the North Carolina Collaboratory told the N.C. Charter Schools Review Board earlier this month. \u201cBut we\u2019re going to tell you what you need to hear.\u201d<\/p>\n

Corn is the social sciences research director at the Collaboratory, which is based at UNC-Chapel Hill and is funding the charter school research lab.<\/p>\n

In 2016, state lawmakers created the North Carolina Collaboratory to do research on the most pressing problems facing the state. In recent years, the Collaboratory has turned more of its focus on K-12 education issues.<\/p>\n

Charter schools are taxpayer-funded schools that are exempt from many of the rules that traditional public schools must follow. Charter schools aren\u2019t subject to the school calendar law, only need to have half their teachers licensed, and aren\u2019t required to provide school transportation or participate in the federal school lunch program.<\/p>\n

The first charter schools in North Carolina opened in 1997. One of their stated purposes was to serve as \u201claboratories of innovation\u201d that could be emulated in school districts.<\/p>\n

There are now 211 charter schools statewide serving 161,507 students \u2014 more than 10% of the state\u2019s entire public school population. Enrollment in charter schools is growing at the same time it\u2019s falling in traditional public schools<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe question is no longer are we going to have charter schools,\u201d said Doug Lauen, a professor at UNC-Chapel Hill\u2019s Department of Public Policy, which will conduct the research for the new lab. \u201cIt\u2019s really like, we\u2019ve got a lot of charter schools and how are we going to manage the growth and put them in the right place and give them the support that they need?\u201d<\/p>\n

The new lab got the support of the Charter Schools Review Board at its June 8 meeting<\/a>. The Republican-controlled General Assembly transferred oversight of charter schools<\/a> from the State Board of Education to the Review Board in 2023.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love these types of research projects,\u201d said Eric Sanchez, a Review Board member. \u201cI think they bring a light to a lot of things that we discuss and allow us to go from theory to tangible evidence about what\u2019s working, what\u2019s not.\u201d<\/p>\n

Corn said Thursday in an email to The News & Observer that the lab\u2019s work will start in August with two studies:<\/p>\n

Under the four-year partnership, Corn said, the plan is to do two to three studies a year on issues jointly identified by the Office of Charter Schools and the Research Lab.<\/p>\n

Read more Jelly Roll Drops \u2018Divorce Vlog’ After High-Profile Split From Bunnie Xo<\/a><\/p>\n

One of the potential areas for study is staffing and teacher qualifications. Unlike traditional public schools, only 50% of a charter school\u2019s teachers need to be licensed.<\/p>\n

Some charter schools still only employ licensed teachers while others use the flexibility to fill their teaching ranks. A charter school could hire a mathematician to teach a math class.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs it the case that charters with more licensed teachers are more effective than charters with fewer licensed teachers?\u201d Lauen said to the Review Board. \u201cI think it\u2019s an interesting question for folks in the charter school community and also outside the charter school community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another area the research lab has put on the table for potential study is what types of students are less likely to enroll in charter schools. Students with disabilities were one group singled out by researchers.<\/p>\n

The latest Annual Charter Schools Report shows that<\/a> students with disabilities account for 12% of the enrollment in charters. Students with disabilities make up to 15% of the enrollment in traditional public schools.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s some concerns about whether there\u2019s enough places for students with disabilities in charters,\u201d Lauen said. \u201cThis has been a longtime question in charter school research. Is it the case that students with disabilities are less likely to enroll in charter schools in general or particular types of charter schools?\u201d<\/p>\n

Another area the Review Board wants the lab to study is virtual charter schools. The Review Board has gotten multiple requests for new virtual charter schools<\/a> as well as from existing brick-and-mortar charters to start remote charter academies.<\/p>\n

Demand for virtual charter school seats has continued to grow even though they\u2019ve academically had a poor track record<\/a>. Leaders at virtual charters have cited how they\u2019re educating students who didn\u2019t do well in traditional schools for the low scores.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think we can say strongly enough that we all believe the virtual environment, virtual education needs some analysis,\u201d said Rita Haire, a Review Board member. \u201cWe have blind spots there and it just sort of continues to persist until there\u2019s some action and the action needs to be databased. I know it\u2019s complex, but it sounds like you\u2019re the team to tackle that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Based on the investment the state is making in remote charters, Sanchez said they\u2019ve \u201cgot to have something to understand whether or not this is something we should be really continuing to sink our teeth into.\u201d<\/p>\n

Virtual charters are something that could be studied. Corn told the N&O the Collaboratory intends to continue to work with the Review Board to identify research priorities over the life of the project.<\/p>\n

Read more Ivanka Trump Gives Rare Glimpse of Bikini Body in Sheer Beach Outfit<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Researchers will work with the N.C. Charter Schools Review Board to investigate charter vs. public outcomes, virtual charters and access for students with disabilities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2827,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2828","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-todays-edition"],"yoast_head":"\nHow effective are NC charter schools? Researchers to take a deep look at them - Durham Moving Hub<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2828\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How effective are NC charter schools? Researchers to take a deep look at them - Durham Moving Hub\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Researchers will work with the N.C. Charter Schools Review Board to investigate charter vs. public outcomes, virtual charters and access for students with disabilities.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2828\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Durham Moving Hub\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-20T08:34:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=2828#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=2828\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/bf1f081e7f06a3ab66052e5f6015fd85\"},\"headline\":\"How effective are NC charter schools? Researchers to take a deep look at them\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-20T08:34:34+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=2828\"},\"wordCount\":1001,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=2828#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/3819ea4fe8b7c929dc665e6ac2259fc0.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Read today's Edition\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=2828#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=2828\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=2828\",\"name\":\"How effective are NC charter schools? Researchers to take a deep look at them - Durham Moving Hub\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=2828#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=2828#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/3819ea4fe8b7c929dc665e6ac2259fc0.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-20T08:34:34+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/bf1f081e7f06a3ab66052e5f6015fd85\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=2828#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=2828\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=2828#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/3819ea4fe8b7c929dc665e6ac2259fc0.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/3819ea4fe8b7c929dc665e6ac2259fc0.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":674},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=2828#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How effective are NC charter schools? Researchers to take a deep look at them\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Durham Moving Hub\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/bf1f081e7f06a3ab66052e5f6015fd85\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How effective are NC charter schools? Researchers to take a deep look at them - Durham Moving Hub","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2828","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How effective are NC charter schools? Researchers to take a deep look at them - Durham Moving Hub","og_description":"Researchers will work with the N.C. Charter Schools Review Board to investigate charter vs. public outcomes, virtual charters and access for students with disabilities.","og_url":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2828","og_site_name":"Durham Moving Hub","article_published_time":"2026-06-20T08:34:34+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2828#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2828"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/#\/schema\/person\/bf1f081e7f06a3ab66052e5f6015fd85"},"headline":"How effective are NC charter schools? Researchers to take a deep look at them","datePublished":"2026-06-20T08:34:34+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2828"},"wordCount":1001,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2828#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/3819ea4fe8b7c929dc665e6ac2259fc0.jpg","articleSection":["Read today's Edition"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2828#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2828","url":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2828","name":"How effective are NC charter schools? Researchers to take a deep look at them - Durham Moving Hub","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2828#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2828#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/3819ea4fe8b7c929dc665e6ac2259fc0.jpg","datePublished":"2026-06-20T08:34:34+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/#\/schema\/person\/bf1f081e7f06a3ab66052e5f6015fd85"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2828#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2828"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2828#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/3819ea4fe8b7c929dc665e6ac2259fc0.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/3819ea4fe8b7c929dc665e6ac2259fc0.jpg","width":1200,"height":674},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2828#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How effective are NC charter schools? Researchers to take a deep look at them"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/","name":"Durham Moving Hub","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/#\/schema\/person\/bf1f081e7f06a3ab66052e5f6015fd85","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/durhammovinghub.com"],"url":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2828","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2828"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2828\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2827"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2828"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2828"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2828"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}