CHARLOTTE, N.C. — North Carolina is on the brink of what some are calling the largest expansion yet to school choice.
Private school scholarships, commonly known as opportunity scholarships, recently received a half-a-billion-dollar boost, and charter school applications are expected to rise in the coming year.
As a response, traditional public school districts have continued to try and diversify their school choice within the district.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools will open up applications for its magnet schools programs, a historically competitive lottery program. Magnet schools have special instruction and programs not available in other schools. They’re designed to attract a more diverse student body from throughout the school district.
"The process for choosing a school is difficult, it's probably the most difficult thing that parents will ever have had to do," said Walter Hall, the district's director of magnet programs and school choice.
During the pandemic traditional public school districts like CMS saw students leaving the classroom.
"The question that we need to be asking when it comes to the public schools is, 'Why are so many parents today leaving the public school system?'" Mike Long, the president of Parents for Educational Freedom in North Carolina said.
Parents for Educational Freedom in North Carolina is a non-profit organization that advocates for parental school choice in the state.
Private school enrollment has increased in North Carolina over the years. A report from the North Carolina Department of Administration shows that 126,768 students attended private schools in the state during the 2022-23 school year. Mecklenburg County has the most private schools.
Recent legislation opened up more public money to help families, regardless of their income level, to private schools.
"So many parents are stuck in school systems and certain places where they don't have the economic ability to be able to pick that school that best serves the needs of their children," Long said.
Homeschool enrollment in North Carolina has grown steadily over the past two decades, with a sharp increase during the COVID-19 pandemic. A report shows in the 2007-08 school year, there were 71,566 students enrolled in home schools according to state data. By school year 2020-21, that number had jumped to 179,900 a more than 250% increase. Enrollment dipped slightly in the 2021-22 school year to 160,528 students, but it remains significantly higher than pre-pandemic levels at 152,717 for the 2022-23 year.
A report by the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools showed North Carolina saw the nation’s fifth-highest charter school enrollment gain during the pandemic. This translates to an additional for a total of 14,312 new students enrolled in North Carolina charters during the pandemic.
During the same period, traditional district schools in North Carolina lost 48,283 students.
At the onset of the pandemic, the 2019-20 school year, the report shows North Carolina charter school enrollment increased by 7.19%. Traditional public school enrollment increased in comparison by 3.59%.
"We know that there are over 77,000 students on waitlists to get into charter schools," Lindalyn Kakadelis, the executive director of the North Carolina Coalition for Charter Schools said. "And why the demand? I'm not real sure, except that I know that parents like options."
However, the vast majority of students still learn in traditional public schools. It’s why CMS said students can have school choices right where they are.
"Some students are really interested in computers or encoding," Hall said. "Some students are interested in languages, there's Montessori, there's World Languages."
Students have dozens of magnet programs to choose from in CMS. They vary from the computer science program at Harding University High School, the world language courses at South Mecklenburg High School, or the STEM program at Paw Creek Elementary School.
"We're able to provide opportunities for our students to do the heavy lifting, right, the teacher talking at kids is not going to grow them at high levels," said Danielle Belton, Paw Creek Elementary School's principal. "When kids are forced to problem solve with each other., they're forced to touch, feel, see, and do. That's where the magic happens."
School choice within a traditional district is all part of CMS’ plan to compete with the ever-growing outside options education is seeing. Belton said as a parent she welcomes the options.
"My child is in a Montessori program and he'll tell you 'I'm a Montessorian' because that's the way he learns best," Belton said.
CMS offers a Montessori program at several schools around the county.
The district will hold a school choice fair on Saturday, October 14 from 10-2. The fair gives parents and students the opportunity to meet school and district staff and gather information about the school options CMS has to offer.
Contact Shamarria Morrison at smorrison@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.