Durham and Wake leaders oppose this new charter school. It’s likely to open anyway.
A new charter school could open in Durham despite the opposition of school leaders in Durham and Wake counties.
The N.C. Charter Schools Advisory Board recommended Monday that Oak Grove Charter Academy get state approval to open in 2021 off I-85 near the Gorman community in Durham. School leaders say they think they can do a better job of educating area students than the Durham Public Schools.
“Over the past 12 years, I have been real concerned about the educational opportunities for children in Durham,” Gerald McNair, chairman of Oak Grove’s board, told the advisory board on Monday. “I feel a disproportionate number of our public schools in Durham County are operating below par.
“Therefore our children, I feel, are being denied educational opportunities to achieve at the highest level that they possibly can.”
Both Durham Public Schools and the Wake County school system sent letters to the advisory board opposing Oak Grove.
“Durham Public Schools is growing, improving, and thriving under dynamic administrative leadership, a passionate and activist teacher community, a responsive and principled school board, and a bold Strategic Plan,” Superintendent Pascal Mubenga and school board chairman Michael Lee wrote in their letter to the advisory board.
“Approving Oak Grove Charter Academy would hamper our school transformation efforts at Glenn Elementary, increase segregation and socio-economic isolation in eastern Durham County, and reduce local accountability and community engagement. We urge you to reject this charter.”
Charter schools are taxpayer-funded schools that are exempt from some of the rules that traditional public schools must follow. There are 196 now open across the state.
Charter school demand in Durham
There are 14 charter schools in Durham. Until recently, rising charter school enrollment had caused a drop in the school district’s enrollment. Oak Grove leaders pointed to how 7,000 students are on waiting lists for charter schools in Durham to say there’s a demand for the school.
“Seven thousand to me is half of a sporting arena,” said Iris Garner, a member of Oak Grove’s board. “It represents a tragedy. It represents a sense of urgency.”
Charter schools can draw students from multiple counties. Oak Grove also expects to draw Granville County students.
The school could also draw from northwestern Wake County, which is why Wake school leaders opposed the school too.
Oak Grove is proposing to be run by National Heritage Academies, a Michigan-based for-profit management company that already runs 13 charter schools in North Carolina. The school hopes to eventually serve 772 elementary and middle school students.
Durham school officials cited multiple concerns, including how they fear it will lead to white flight from traditional public schools. In the letter, Durham pointed to how after Wake Forest Charter Academy opened, the demographic balance of nearby Wake Forest Elementary School changed dramatically.
Wake Forest Charter Academy is also a National Heritage Academies school that Oak Grove says it wants to replicate academically.
McNair said that while National Heritage Academies doesn’t usually provide school transportation, that’s something that Oak Grove may offer to help low-income families who want to attend.
Monday’s vote with unanimous. The one requirement was that the school change its name so as not to be confused with Oak Grove Elementary, an existing traditional public school in Durham.
“I think this is going to be a great school,” said Steven Walker, vice chairman of the advisory board.
Charter school renewals voted on
The State Board of Education will make the final decision on Oak Grove.
Also on Monday, the advisory board recommended renewing 18 schools whose charters are set to expire in 2020. This includes giving a 10-year renewal for Kestrel Heights School in Durham.
Kestrel Heights had to make major academic and financial changes in 2017 after the State Board of Education ordered it to close its high school program because of improperly awarded diplomas.
“This is a real success story of a school and how they have overcome what they went through,” Walker said.
But advisory board members also voted to recommend not renewing Ignite Innovation Academy in Pitt County. CSAB members pointed to the low test scores and financial issues with the school.
“This is ultimate accountability,” Walker said. “If you do not perform, you do not continue as a school.”
This story was originally published December 9, 2019 at 6:21 PM.
