Join our family of tuition-free public charter schools!

Enroll today for 2017-2018 at one of the area’s four classical public charter schools! Our family of schools is TUITION-FREE and welcomes ALL students at locations in Wilmington, Leland, Southport, and Whiteville. Our campuses offer year-round and traditional calendar options and are frequently their county’s highest-scoring on End-of-Grade tests. Our schools provide a classical curriculum including Latin, Grammar, and Cursive. Our middle schools offer various athletic and extracurricular programs. Available seats are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.

Enroll K-8 students online January 1-31, 2017! 

Additional resources about our campuses are provided at the end of the page. To access enrollment forms, please select a campus, below:

Charter Day School, Leland NC – click HERE

Columbus Charter School, Whiteville, NC – click HERE

Douglass Academy, Wilmington NC – click HERE

South Brunswick Charter School, Bolivia/Southport NC – click HERE

Additional Resources:

Testimonials from our parents:

Student Life:

Click to Read! 

Academic Performance: 

2015-2016 End-of-Grade (EOG) Test Reports 

Charter Day School earns 2016 National Wesley Becker Excellent School Award

Douglass Academy provides hope to downtown Wilmington families 

South Brunswick Charter School is Brunswick County’s second-highest scoring elementary in it’s first year of testing

Columbus Charter School exceeds local EOG averages by 4-17 percentage points 

On December 15, 2016, K-5 students treated family and friends to performances of holiday classics. Great job to students and staff for a wonderful show!

 Learn the facts about NC’s public charter schools!

Public charter schools are outperforming district schools in North Carolina and providing a tuition-free choice to an increasing number of parents. Learn the basics of public charter schools, where to find one, and how you can help. View facts, videos, and resources, below! 

Fast Facts

Fact 1:
Charter Schools are free and public.

Charter schools are 100% tuition-free for any student, regardless of address, income or ability level. In communities without charter schools, parents without the time or money required to send their child to a home or private school are left with only one tuition-free option: a district school determined by address, not quality.

Fact 2:
Charter schools are diverse.

In 2016, the NC Department of Public Instruction reported that NC charter schools serve higher percentages of students in 4 of 6 non-white categories. Charter schools do not engage in selective admissions and are required to fully service students with special needs.

Fact 3:
Charter schools perform better academically.

On 2015 End-of-Grade (EOG) tests, the state performance average for charter schools in NC was 66.7% compared to the NC district school average of 56.2% — a  difference of 10 percentage points. Further, the same testing data reveal that students in 12 of 13 demographic categories had a significantly higher chance of passing their EOG at charter school versus a district school.

Fact 4:
Charter schools are not required to use Common Core.

Unlike district schools, charter schools are free from the mandate to use the controversial Common Core curriculum. Charter schools were created to allow innovation in public education to inform best practices that the state could then implement. While not required to use Common Core, charter schools are required to take the same EOG tests as district schools. The State Board of Education approves all curricula in place at public charter schools. Many exciting educational programs are offered by public charter schools, including classical education, STEM, language-immersion and Montessori, among others.

Fact 5:
Charter schools are more accountable.

Charter schools receive the same annual audits as do counties, towns, and school districts. These “Local Government Commission” (LGC) audits ensure financial and regulatory compliance.

Additionally, and unlike district schools, charter schools who receive an “F” school performance grade for two consecutive years can face closure. This incentivizes charter schools to proactively monitor and responsively ensure students’ academic success. Further, as charter schools depend on voluntary parent choice for their enrollment, free-market forces create a need for charter schools to provide a superior or quality educational “product” to attract “customers”. Charter schools’ survival is linked with academic performance, unlike district schools.

Fact 6:
Charter schools save taxpayer money.

NC charter schools currently receive only 73% of the per-pupil funds that district students receive. This means that charter school students receive approximately $2,000 less than a district school student. Further, charter schools do not receive public funding for their facilities, which on average cost taxpayers $18-$20 million in bonded debt per each new district school.

Fact 7:
Charter schools are popular.

NC charter school enrollment has increased by 85% over the past five years with 167 schools serving approximately 90,000 students. In a 2015 state poll, 87% of respondents agreed that parents school have the right to choose a school for their child.

Informational Videos

Additional Resources: 

• Become a Charter Ambassador by emailing: Lindalyn Kakadelis, ncedstrategies@gmail.com
• Charter school vs. District school 2014-2015 EOG data, report: http://bit.ly/2fLWL0s
• Interactive Map of NC charter schools:

WECT: 9-year Old Girl Helps the Homeless

WECT TV6-WECT.com:News, weather & sports Wilmington, NC

As WECT News reports, Douglass Academy fouth-grader,  Thalian Lee,  held a yard sale this week to help the homeless in her community. Thalian shared her goal of attending Harvard or Stanford business schools in order to open up a facility to help those in need.

Thalian is well on her way! We promise to continue doing our best to equip Thalian to achieve her academic and career goals.

The Roger Bacon Academy, Inc. (RBA) recently hosted its Employee Appreciation Banquet at the Wilmington Convention Center.  Attended by nearly 400 employees and their guests, the main ballroom was festively decorated in the the company’s colors of purple and white for lighting, flower arrangements, and table decorations with many guests formally attired in long gowns or colorful cocktail dresses. The formal event provided an evening of recognition, prizes, and fun for employees of RBA’s client public charter schools, Charter Day School, Columbus Charter School, Douglass Academy, and South Brunswick Charter School, who collectively serve more than 2,200 students.

After a convivial mixer, a sumptuous dinner of shrimp and grits or stuffed chicken was served and topped off with an enormous slice of chocolate cake.  After dinner, the program began with an address by Bob Spencer, Chairman of the Charter Day School, Inc. (CDS, Inc.) Board of Trustees. Nonprofit CDS, Inc. employs RBA to manage its four public charter schools by providing administrative and support departments, such as finance, human resources, curriculum selection, teacher training and support, data management, and communications, among others. Chairman Spencer thanked teachers, assistants, and support staff for their dedication and praised their success in consistently producing some of our region’s top schools. 

Next, RBA President Baker Mitchell presented anniversary certificates to fifty employees who have worked within the network for five or more years.  Seventeen recipients received special recognition for ten or more years within the network. Headmasters from each campus then announced their school’s Teacher of the Year for 2016-2017—to much applause from their colleagues gathered in attendance. We are excited and proud to announce Teacher of the Year, below.

2016-2017 Teachers of the Year

The special night continued with a giveaway of  prizes including $250 gift cards, spa days, rounds of golf, tablets, and appliances, among other items followed by a DJ playing popular music that kept everyone on the dance floor  into the wee hours.  Everyone went home with a purple, RBA-emblazoned umbrella and cap—favors we’ve enjoyed seeing all around our campuses during recent rains.

RBA Founder Baker Mitchell explained, “The goal of the banquet is to celebrate the dedicated and skilled employees of our client schools. They are truly stars – simply the best! The fun event in a beautiful venue provides great team building for each campus and for the network of schools as a whole. The banquet also helps to strengthen friendships between colleagues, which is a gift that keeps on giving.”

A gallery of photos is included below and linked here.

Gallery: Employee Appreciation Banquet 2016

New Hanover, Brunswick, Columbus — Last week, the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) released End-of-Grade (EOG) testing results for the most recent 2015-2016 school year. EOGs are standardized tests taken in grades 3-8 by all public schools in the state to provide a system of uniform achievement measuring and comparison of all NC public schools, whether district or charter.

The Roger Bacon Academy, Inc. (RBA) is an educational management company serving four public and tuition-free charter schools in southeastern NC. RBA serves the family of public charter schools operated by the non-profit Charter Day School, Inc., which includes Charter Day School in Leland, South Brunswick Charter School in Bolivia, Douglass Academy in Wilmington, and Columbus Charter School in Whiteville. In sum, the network of four schools includes two campuses in Brunswick County, one campus in Columbus County, and one campus in New Hanover County.

Of note, EOG tests are aligned with state-mandated Common Core curriculum, which public charter schools are not required to use. Among other services, RBA provides client schools with a signature educational program that rejects Common Core and instead provides a classical curriculum delivered with the proven Direct Instruction teaching method. The following presents a summary of the network’s 2015-2016 EOG performance.

Charter Day School
Two of the top three elementary schools in Brunswick County are public charter schools managed by RBA. Charter Day School’s elementary campus and South Brunswick Charter School and joined the district’s Union Elementary School as the top three highest-scoring elementary schools in Brunswick County.

Charter Day School’s middle school campus provided Brunswick County’s highest-scoring middle school, by a margin of 10.5 percentage points.

State and Brunswick County EOG performance averages are 58.3% and 56.0%, respectively. Charter Day School’s performance average of 72.4% exceeds the state average by 14.1 percentage points and the county average by 16.4 percentage points. Charter Day School is a Title 1 school, which means that 40% or more of its students are economically disadvantaged. The school was one of three elementary schools in Brunswick County to earn a school performance grade of “B.”

Two of the top three elementary schools in Brunswick County are public charter schools managed by RBA.

South Brunswick Charter School
In its first year of EOG testing and second year of operation, South Brunswick Charter School was the second-highest scoring elementary school in Brunswick County. South Brunswick Charter School also achieved the highest EOG reading score of any elementary school in the county.

State and Brunswick County EOG performance averages are 58.3% and 56.0%, respectively. South Brunswick Charter School’s performance average of 74.1% exceeds the state average by 15.8 percentage points and the county average by 18 percentage points. South Brunswick Charter School is a Title 1 school, which means that 40% or more of its students are economically disadvantaged. The school was one of three elementary schools in Brunswick County to earn a school performance grade of “B.”

In its first year of EOG testing… South Brunswick Charter School was the
second-highest scoring elementary school in Brunswick County

Douglass Academy

In its second year of EOG testing and third year of operation, Douglass Academy significantly outscored the three chronically low-performing elementary schools it was established to address. The three elementary schools, Rachel Freeman, Snipes Academy, and Gregory, are neighboring schools that serve majority populations of economically disadvantaged and minority students. Similarly, Douglass Academy served 92% economically disadvantaged students and 96% minority students in 2015-2016. Douglass Academy was established in downtown Wilmington specifically to provide a successful tuition-free school for families in the area.

Douglass Academy’s performance average is 55%. For comparison, performance averages for the three neighboring elementary schools—Rachel Freeman, Snipes Academy, and Gregory—reveal that only 25.6%, 32.2%, and 28.9% of students passed their EOGs, respectively. Of note, of students who had attended Douglass Academy since Kindergarten, an astonishing 75% passed.

State and New Hanover County EOG performance averages are 58.3% and 64.4%, respectively. Douglass Academy’s performance average of 55% was slightly below the state average and below the county average. The school earned a school performance grade of “C.” Notably, Douglass Academy’s performance average exceeded neighboring, demographically-similar schools’ averages by a range of 23-29 percentage points.

Douglass Academy achieved the highest academic growth score of all schools in the RBA network.

Of students who had attended Douglass Academy since Kindergarten, an astonishing 75% passed.

Columbus Charter School

Columbus Charter School was a top-3 highest scoring school in the Columbus County district and a top-6 highest scoring school of 28 schools across the Columbus County, Whiteville City, and Bladen County districts. Overall, Columbus Charter School’s EOG performance average exceeded state, Columbus County, and Whiteville City, and Bladen County performance averages. The Whiteville City district is included in this comparison, as it is located within the same county as Columbus Charter School. The Bladen County district is included in this comparison, as Columbus Charter School serves significant populations of students residing in Bladen County.

The state performance average is 58.3%. The Columbus, Whiteville, and Bladen districts’ performance averages are 51%, 55.3%, and 42.8%, respectively. Columbus Charter School’s performance average is 59.2%, exceeding neighboring district averages by a range of 4-17 percentage points. Columbus Charter School is a Title 1 school, which means that 40% or more of its students are economically disadvantaged. The school earned a school performance grade of “C.”

Columbus Charter School was a top-3 highest scoring school in the Columbus County district and a top-6 highest scoring school of 28 schools across the Columbus County, Whiteville City, and Bladen County districts.

Conclusion

The above demonstrates that the RBA’s family of public charter schools provides a high-quality educational alternative in public education. All public charter schools are tuition-free and accept any student who applies, regardless of address, income, or ability.

All RBA client schools provide a classical curriculum including the unique offerings of Latin, Cursive, and Grammar coursework in grades 4-8. The curriculum is delivered by the proven Direct Instruction teaching method that, among other things, ensures all students receive instruction at their individual achievement levels. This is accomplished through quarterly student promotion on a subject-by-subject basis. For example, a Kindergarten student who excels in reading could receive instruction on a first or second grade level.

RBA was founded by Baker Mitchell, a former university professor, engineer, and software entrepreneur who observed the Direct Instruction teaching method transform chronically-low performing schools in Houston, Texas.

“Upon surveying the transformation and success of formerly low-performing schools in Houston, I saw the power of combining a proven curriculum with the scientifically-tested Direct Instruction method. I brought this model to the Cape Fear area in 2000. That year, our first client school opened with 53 students. Now, our company provides this effective education to approximately 2,200 students,” Mitchell explained.

“Last month, the National Institute for Direct Instruction selected Charter Day School to receive its 2016 Wesley Becker Excellent School award for exemplary implementation of the Direct Instruction method, which we’re very proud of,” Mitchell added.

CDS parent, Shirley Stefanakis says of the educational program, “There is no curriculum that can even compare to what they’re doing, so we’re really thrilled for my middle school student. They focus a lot more on building up the basics in children and giving them a strong foundation, particularly in mathematics and subjects that have been lost, such as handwriting and composition. Math skills are superior here.”

The annual Open Enrollment period for the family of schools will run the month of January, 2017. For more information, please visit www.rogerbacon.net.

August 29, 2016– This week, downtown Wilmington’s only public charter school, Douglass Academy, began its fourth school year. Opened in August 2013, the school has since grown from 33 students in grades K-2 to nearly 250 students in grades K-5.

Since last year alone, the school’s enrollment has grown by 75%.

Established in downtown Wilmington to combat the area’s chronically low test scores, Douglass Academy provides a classical curriculum that includes courses in Latin, Cursive, and Grammar. The curriculum is delivered with the Direct Instruction teaching method, which more than 200 academic studies affirm can bring students to and beyond grade-level proficiency more quickly than any other program.

In fact, the school from which Douglass Academy was replicated— Charter Day School in Leland— won a national excellence award for its implementation of Direct Instruction this July.

Big-sister Charter Day School also consistently produces the top-scoring elementary and middle schools in neighboring Brunswick County on End-of-Grade (EOG) tests. This same educational program is in place at Douglass Academy, which is also excelling on EOGs.

“In our second year of EOG testing, preliminary results reveal that 55% of Douglass Academy students passed their tests,” states Headmaster Barbra Jones.

“Of students who had attended our school since Kindergarten, 75% passed,” Jones continued.

 For comparison, the most recently reported performance averages for neighboring elementary schools, Rachel Freeman, Snipes, and Gregory reveal that only 27%, 29.6%, and 43% of students passed their EOGs, respectively.

Douglass Academy is able to achieve pass rates as much as 28 percentage points higher than neighboring schools while serving a population of 96% minority students and 92% low income students— despite New Hanover County Schools Superintendent Tim Markley’s August statement that “high-poverty schools tend to be our worst performers” and that “overall, African-American performance needs to improve.”

While perhaps true in the surrounding county, Douglass Academy breaks this trend.

 “It is neither a secret nor is it magic,” states Baker Mitchell, Founder of the Roger Bacon Academy, Inc. which manages Douglass Academy and its sister schools.

“Proven curricula and time-tested instructional methods along with more parent freedom and empowerment through schools of choice have repeatedly created high-performing schools in neighborhoods of all socio-economic levels,” Mitchell continued.

 Parent Celina Smith offered, “I love my child’s charter school because the structure. I love the fact that my child learns about respect, obedience, and being a good citizen.”

“I like the Saxon Math curriculum. I also like the way reading groups are set up. I love the fact that the teachers and staff really care about my child. I know that Douglass Academy is setting my child up for a lifetime of success,” Smith added.

Douglass Academy is one of four identical public charter schools managed by The Roger Bacon Academy, Inc. The family of schools includes Charter Day School in Leland, Columbus Charter School in Whiteville, and South Brunswick Charter School in Southport.  Douglass Academy is a tuition-free, public charter school that welcomes all students, regardless of income, ability, or address and provides free transportation and meal services. To learn more or enroll online, please visit www.douglassacademy.net/school/admissions.

2016-2017 Open House

Please join us for an Open House to tour our facility and meet our staff!

Thursday, August 25, 2016
5:30pm

Douglass Academy is located at:
507 N. 6th Street
Wilmington, NC 28405

Baker Mitchell with Douglass Academy student at the school’s annual Kindergarten “I Can Read” ceremony

In an OpEd printed Monday, August, 22, 2016 in the Wilmington StarNews, RBA Founder Baker Mitchell advises New Hanover County Schools Superintendent Tim Markely against his forced busing proposal for low-income, high-minority schools.

Douglass Academy provides an important case study on the achievement possible for low-income and minority students in Wilmington’s inner-city.

“Why is this black, low-income, tuition-free public charter school scoring two or three times better than its adjacent, better-funded schools?”

Read Baker Mitchell’s OpEd in the StarNews: 

http://www.starnewsonline.com/opinion/20160821/cape-fear-voices-roger-bacon-founder-says-busing-not-answer-for-bad-schools

Further Reading:

The following 2016 report reveals that in North Carolina, 12 of 13 student demographic categories pass a higher percentage of End-of-Grade (EOG) tests at public charter schools than at traditional public schools. For example– and mirroring the trend at Douglass Academy discussed above–  low-income students pass 50% of their EOG tests in NC public charter schools versus 42 % in NC traditional public schools.

Report:
http://bakeramitchell.com/2016/08/11/dpi-calculations-reveal-nc-public-charters-better-serve-12-of-13-student-groups/

Douglass Academy info:
http://douglassacademy.net