NCGA may Give Virtual Charters a Four-Year Extension | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's note: The author of this post is Lindsay Marchello, who is an associate editor for the Carolina Journal, John Hood Publisher.

    Lawmakers want to give virtual charter schools more time to improve student performance as the four year pilot program nears completion.

    The Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee approved a draft report on Tuesday, May 1, including proposed legislation to extend the pilot program for the state's two virtual charter schools.

    The General Assembly had the State Board of Education establish a virtual charter school pilot program in 2014 for two virtual charter schools: NC Connections Academy and NC Virtual Academy.

    Representatives from the two schools gave presentations last year to the education committee. The schools have taught more than 2,000 students since opening their virtual doors three years ago, but student performance has been less than stellar. NC Connections Academy and NC Virtual Academy both earned a D on their school report cards and have repeatedly failed to meet growth.

    Despite the lagging performance, the education oversight committee recommended extending the sunset on the pilot program for another four years until the 2022-2023 school year. As the draft report explains, the extra time would allow lawmakers to reassess student outcomes over a longer period.

    Terry Stoops, the vice president of research and director of education studies at the John Locke Foundation, said the start-up period seldom represents a school's performance. Conventional charter schools typically receive a 10-year charter.

    "This provides schools ample time to compile a substantial record of financial data, test scores, and other measures used by state education officials to judge schools' success," Stoops said. "North Carolina's virtual charter schools are far from that point. As such, they should be granted the extension, thus allowing the schools to be evaluated for a period that is comparable to their conventional charter school counterparts."