Writer: Gabriela Enamorado
4 min read May 2023 — The Triangle metro area continues to attract people with its strong economy, great schools, relatively affordable cost of living and great quality of life. The region’s population has more than doubled over the last 30 years, surpassing 2 million in the last few years. Of course, as families continue to move into the metropolitan area, one of the primary goals will be finding the right school for their children’s education. Currently, those under the age of 18 make up 22% of the Triangle metro’s population.
As the region experiences more growth, there is more demand for schools to meet the needs of the children in the area, with charter schools aiming to meet these demands.
In May, the National Heritage Academies, a charter school corporation that has over 100 schools in nine different states, announced the purchase of 42 acres in Johnston County for $1.55 million. The company currently runs 15 charter schools in North Carolina, with locations in Clayton, Apex, Roesville, Durham and Wake Forest.
The announcement comes as Johnston County is in the midst of a population boom. According to the 2020 Census, Johnston County was the fastest growing county in North Carolina. The county is making sure its infrastructure is accommodating to this growth and making big investments in its school system.
Six charter schools in the state also received approval last week to open in 2024. There will be two new charter schools in Mecklenburg County in the Charlotte area and one each in Crave, Cumberland, Henderson and Wake Counties.
Three of these approved are a part of the Charlotte-based Movement Mortgage, which funds a national network of charter schools in underserved areas. Movement plans to open 100 charter schools across the county, with their first location in Raleigh being in Wake County. The proposed school name is Movement School Raleigh and will be serving grades K-5.
The rise of charter schools in the Triangle highlights the growth in the communities moving forward at a rapid pace. This also indicates the demographics are shifting to more young families as well. Currently, married couples make up about 62% of households in the metro area.
The growth in charter schools in the Triangle is in line with the rest of North Carolina as well. There are currently 206 charter schools in North Carolina, serving a total of 138,352 students. In the 2022-23 school year, 8.9% of all students in the state attended a charter school. School choice is a hot topic in the education sector, with childrens’ learning environments top of mind for many parents.
There is also a growing enrollment of students in private schools and homeschooling students. There are 122,394 students enrolled in private schools in North Carolina. This could increase in coming years if legislation recently proposed to provide vouchers for private schools is approved. The voucher program’s name would be Opportunity Scholars.
Homeschooling has also increased, with North Carolina having the highest rates of homeschooling in the country. Wake County has the most homeschooled students,with 9,002 home schools serving 14,408 students. Families have been turning to homeschooling for safety and health concerns, disagreement over school policies, and parents dissatisfaction of the academic instruction.
Some critics of charter schools have concerns that this will drain the traditional public school system of their expenses and resources, an area which public schools already struggle with. As less students enroll in public schools, schools could be receiving less funding from the government. The state’s budget for charter schools has grown exponentially, increasing from $16 million in 1997 to $985 million in the 2022-23 school year.This budget comes from $1.1 billion that was allocated for public education.
