CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Every parent wants the best education for their child, and for some, that’s coming with some adjustments.
"I just moved my daughter to a charter school that’s kindergarten through 12," Meghan Williams said.
New data from the National Alliance Public Charter Schools show that public charter school enrollment for new students was nearly 10 times that of traditional district schools in the last school year.
"The school work is more intense and, coming from a different background, I believe they are on a higher level than public schools," another parent told WCNC Charlotte.
Lindayln Kakadelis, the executive director of the North Carolina Coalition for Charter Schools, said that parents are looking for different things to meet their children's unique needs.
"It's been interesting to me that it's the Black and Hispanic students who have driven the enrollment increases," Kakadelis said. "For so long, we didn't see that, but we definitely are seeing that now in the data."
Some parents say they love the flexibility of charter schools and have no plans of sending their kids back to traditional schools.
"When I can get all three kids in the same school at the same time through high school it's fantastic," Williams said. "You can cross county lines to attend a charter school and charter schools are unique in their mission and vision."
Kakadelis said the trends show that parents have discovered a choice and like it.
The study also shows that, as charter schools continue to gain students, district schools continue to lose students, showing a nearly 4% decrease in enrollment.
Tradesha Woodard: Contact Tradesha Woodard at twoodard1@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.