Raleigh, N.C. — A Blue Ribbon commission charged with recommending ways to improve North Carolina charter schools says the state needs more of them.
After six months of study, the commission also suggests getting tougher on performance requirements. They are proposed standards nearly 30 percent of current charter schools are not meeting.
Data shared with the Blue Ribbon Commission on Charter Schools suggests more than half of the state's charter schools have below-average growth.
"When we have a large percentage of schools performing below median, that is not acceptable," said Jack Moyer, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction's director of charter schools."
Schools falling below median public school standards in a school year would have a year to turn their grades around or close, under the commission's recommendations.
Despite the numbers, the commission also recommends doing away with the current state cap, which allows no more than 100 schools. Instead, six new charter schools would be allowed to open each year.
High-performing schools and charter schools that are a first in the county would not be count against the state's total number of schools.
"We would love to see more charter schools, because we know the frustration of the families we have to turn away," said Mary Griffin, administrator of Magellan Charter School in Raleigh.
The commission is expected to meet again Dec. 19 to finish finalizing its recommendations before it takes them to the North Carolina Board of Education for consideration.
Commission to Recommend No Charter School Cap, Increased Standards
- Reporter: Adam Owens
- Web Editor: Kelly Gardner
Copyright 2009 by Capitol Broadcasting Company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
44 Comments
-
- Hagan, Burr express concern over health care funding
Updated at 6:53 a.m. |
- Wake County distributing large H1N1 vaccine shipment
Updated 31 minutes ago |
- Cooking oil gets kicked to curb in Raleigh
Updated 30 minutes ago |
- Spring Lake police to reaffirm duty in ceremony
Updated at 6:32 a.m. - Split N.C. delegation votes 8-5 against health care bill
Updated Nov. 8 8:11 p.m. |
- Hagan, Burr express concern over health care funding
- Most Viewed Slideshows
- Families honor veterans 2009
Updated at 6:35 a.m. - Fort Bragg homecoming
Posted Nov. 8 3:07 p.m. - Photos: Cheerleading Championship
Nov. 7, 2009
- Families honor veterans 2009
top-voted stories
(2 votes) germany celebrates fall of berlin wall
-
Photos: Hurricane IdaHurricane Ida passed over Mexico's Yucatan peninsula, then headed to the U.S. Gulf Coast in early November 2009.
-
Photo: Fall of the Berlin WallThe 28-year-old Cold War symbol along East Germany's fortified border crumbled on the evening of Nov. 9, 1989, a pivotal moment in the collapse of…
-
N.C. honors veterans with paradesNorth Carolina honored veterans Saturday with annual parades in Raleigh and Fayetteville and a ceremony at the State Capitol building.
-
Photos of the weekThe snow-covered Wilder Kaiser, part of the Alps, is reflected in Lake Schwarzsee in Austria. It's among the best photos taken by Associated Press…
-
The week in entertainmentA look at the top entertainment headlines this week through the lenses of Associated Press photographers.





STORIES
VIDEOS
SLIDESHOWS


Welcome to GOLO, where WRAL.com visitors can comment on stories and create profile pages, blogs and photo galleries.
You must be a registered WRAL.com user to use these tools. Click here to register or log in.