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

From the NC Alliance for Public Charter Schools

Newly-released testing data from NC’s Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) reveal that NC’s public charter school students academically outperform peers in traditional public schools in 12 of 13 demographic categories. The previously-unreported data were released just in time for National Charter Schools Week. Nationally, there are nearly 7,000 charter schools serving more than 2.6 million students. In North Carolina, NCDPI projects that more than 150 public charter schools will serve more than 100,000 public students in the upcoming school year.

This new data release separates out the performance of public charter students from that of traditional public students and is the first of its kind for NCDPI.

In 12 of 13 demographic subgroups— including minorities, economically disadvantaged students, and students with disabilities— students at public charter schools academically outperformed students at traditional public schools on standardized and state-mandated End-of-Grade (EOG) tests. Overall for the most recent year, NCDPI data reveal that the performance average of NC charter school students was 66.6% compared to the traditional public school student performance average of 56.2%.

As seen in the chart below, the data reveal that the EOG performance average of Hispanic students in public charter schools is 58.6% compared to 44.9% in traditional public schools. For black students, the charter average is 46.8% compared to the traditional public school average of 37%. The charter average for students with disabilities is 30.9% compared to the traditional public school average of 20.6%. Economically disadvantaged students also performed better in public charter schools, at a rate of 49.9% compared to 41.5% in traditional public schools. These percentages—called composites—represent the number of EOG tests passed by all tested students (grades 3-8) in all subjects.

Traditional public schools outperformed public charter schools in only one category—“Academically Intellectually Gifted”—by one-half of a percentage point, achieving 96.0% compared to public charter performance of 95.5%.

The percentages below offer official, verified, statistical proof that the state’s system of public charter schools achieves, by significant margins, its primary statutory purpose to “improve student outcomes.”

Public charter schools are public, tuition-free schools that have open enrollment, which means that any student may choose to attend, regardless of ability, income, or achievement level. Public charter schools may offer unique curricula or educational programs other than the state-mandated curriculum, which in NC, is Common Core. Though they can select alternative curricula, public charter schools must take the same Common Core-aligned EOG tests as do traditional public schools. Public charter schools provide parents with tuition-free choices for where, and how, their child is educated.

NCDPI testing data now conclusively confirm that NC’s public charter school system is indeed a success to be celebrated during National Charter Schools Week. In addition to NC public charter school students producing a state academic performance average that is more than 10 percentage points higher than that of NC traditional public school students, the data presented below demonstrate that 12 of 13 student groups have more academic success at NC public charter schools than do their peers at traditional public schools. The promise of improved outcomes at NC public charter schools is made even sweeter by the fact that public charter schools are tuition-free, welcome all students, and provide significant savings to taxpayers.

A public education system that improves academic outcomes for 12 of 13 student groups for less taxpayer cost should be desired, celebrated, and helped to flourish.

The NC Alliance for Public Charter Schools is an educational advocacy organization comprised of charter school administrators, directors, and former public school officials as well as other professionals dedicated to improving education in North Carolina. The mission of the Alliance is to be a strong voice that speaks transparently for the good of all public charter schools and their students.

Data and calculations represented in these charts provided by NCDPI. Charts assembled by the Quality Control Department of The Roger Bacon Academy, Inc. at the request of The NC Alliance for Public Charter Schools.

On May 12, 2016, Douglass Academy students in grades K-4 performed a wonderful adaptation of The Wizard of Oz.

All students took part in the play, which— in addition to acting— featured student talents such as tap dancing and a Kindergartner’s solo of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” Thank you to Mrs. Joy Manson and Mrs. Jean Lafave for directing  this year’s play. A video and photo gallery of the production are included below!

Video:

Photo Gallery:

Read the 2016 issue of the Composer below! The Composer is an annual magazine published by The Roger Bacon Academy, Inc. to document and celebrate student life and achievement in our family of schools.

Click here to read The Composer! 

On April 19, 2016, K-4 students participated in our annual FASTAR academic competition! This year’s competition was the second ever for Douglass Academy.

“FASTAR” stands for Fluent Academic Skills Tournament in Arithmetic and Reading and was developed 12 years ago by The Roger Bacon Academy, Inc. (RBA), the Leland-based management company of a network of local public charter schools. The annual FASTAR event sees students “race” to complete workbooks including a reading passage and 50 math problems at top speeds of two minutes.

As of this year, the FASTAR event has been implemented at each of RBA’s four client schools: Charter Day School in Leland, Columbus Charter School in Whiteville, Douglass Academy in Wilmington, and South Brunswick Charter School in Southport. Top “racers” from each of the schools will converge for a final competition– the Race of Champions– on May 13, 2016 at Lake Waccamaw.

State EOG Averages: Public Charter Students outperform Traditional Public Students

January 2016- According to official state data, how do public charter students compare to public traditional students on state End-of Grade tests? Each year, the NC Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) publishes the results of state End-of-Grade (EOG) testing. The results include both traditional public students and public charter students, as all public charter schools are required to take EOGs. Each year, NCDPI calculates a state average. The average reflects the percentage of EOG tests passed on the first administration. This year’s state average is 56.6%. This student performance average includes all public students in the state, both traditional and charter.

This average is interesting, as public charter schools are required to have student performance averages of at least 60% or face closure. Thus, students in most public charter schools are performing above the state student performance average—but by what margin? What is the performance average of students in public charter schools?

This important statistic is not calculated by NCDPI, thus we began our work to calculate it.

NCDPI raw testing data for the 2014-2015 school year—the same data by which the all-public state average is calculated— reveals that the state average EOG performance for public charter students is 66.7%. This is ten percentage points higher than the all-public state average of 56.6%. With public charter schools separated out, the state average for traditional public schools drops slightly to 56.1%.

Additionally, when thinking of all public charter schools as a district and ranking it with the 115 traditional districts in the state, the “charter district” average of 66.7% would rank the charter district 10^th of 116 districts.

This data reveals that public charter school students pass significantly more of their tests than do traditional school students. At the criteria for Grade Level Proficiency (EOG scores of 3, 4 or 5), public charter students pass 19% more of their tests than public traditional school students. At the criteria for Career/College Readiness (EOG scores of 4 or 5), public charter students pass 22% more of their tests than public traditional students. These student data explain why there is a higher percentage of A+, A, and B schools among public charters than public traditional. Note also that a recent DPI report revealed that NC public charter schools currently serve equal or greater percentages of minorities than do traditional public schools in four of six minority categories.

Thus, the charter law mandates that charter student performance averages exceed the current traditional student average while also receiving no capital funds for construction, facilities, maintenance, etc. and only 73% of the per-pupil funds provided to traditional public students. These data prove that NC’s public charter schools are exceeding this mandate— providing higher scores for lower cost.

Public charter schools are entirely tuition-free and any student may choose to attend. Public charter schools are unique in their freedom to select alternative curricula instead of the state-mandated curriculum, which in NC, is Common Core. A purpose of allowing public charter schools to adopt alternative curricula while remaining subject to the same accountability and testing requirements as traditional public schools is to improve public education as a whole by revealing successful curricula or methods that can be used inform state education policies. Further, public charter schools provide choices for parents who, without public charter schools or the ability to pay private school tuition, would likely face a single public school option that is determined by their address.

The NC Alliance for Public Charter Schools is an educational advocacy organization comprised of charter school administrators, directors, and former public school officials as well as other professionals dedicated to improving education in North Carolina. The mission of the Alliance is to be a strong voice that speaks transparently for the good of all public charter schools and their students.

2014-2015 NC EOG Performance Comparison for Traditional Public Schools and Public Charter Schools

Source:
Data used in these calculations is publicly available at http://www.ncpublicschools.org/accountability/reporting/ in the first summary report at http://www.ncpublicschools.org/docs/accountability/reporting/acctsumm15.xlsx

Acknowledgement:
The Alliance gratefully acknowledges Sawyer Batten of The Roger Bacon Academy (RBA) for her suggestion to calculate the performance percentage of public charter school students as a component of the total state performance percentage and to Baker Mitchell, Founder of RBA, for extracting and displaying the results at http://bakeramitchell.com/2016/01/23/charter-students-outperform-traditional-students-by-a-wide-margin/ . Both individuals currently serve on the Board of Directors of the Alliance.

Our school is tuition-free, public, and open to all students regardless of income or ability. Our school is a public charter school providing classical education. We are a replicate campus of the current, highest-scoring schools in neighboring Brunswick and Columbus counties. During the enrollment period, enrollment forms will be available for submission online. You may also apply in person at our Main School Office: 507 North Sixth Street, Wilmington, NC 28401. 

Enroll online HERE!

School Features

• Tuition-free, open enrollment public school.
• Located in the newly renovated, historic Peabody building in the heart of downtown Wilmington.
• Replicate campus of Charter Day School in Leland, which is currently and consistently the top scoring school in Brunswick County on state EOG tests.
• Opened in 2013 as a K-2, the school will grow to serve grades K-5 in the year 2017.
• Requires no prerequisite screening/testing.
• Diverse student populations, including special needs students, 91% non-white students, and 85% low economically disadvantaged students.
• Uses research-based, proven Direct Instruction teaching method.
• Curated, rigorous Classical curriculum including Latin, Cursive, and Composition.
• Intensive new-hire training.
• Continuous in-service monitoring to evaluate and optimize instruction.
• Accelerated learning program reviews individual student performance data to promote qualifying students to advanced studies on a subject -by-subject basis.
• Prioritizes the use positive reinforcement in teaching and discipline.
• Student uniforms and professional teacher dress requirements.
• Provides bus services, as well as breakfast and lunch for students.
• Varied extracurricular activities.
• Operates on a traditional public school schedule for compatibility with district schools.
• Regular parent surveys conducted.
• Annual, third-party financial audits conducted.

On December 17, 2015, K-4 students performed in a Christmas variety show which included a comedic version of the play, “Hansel and Gretel, ” various choreographed songs, the reading of a student poem, and a performance by the school’s step team. Thank you to first-year Director, Joy Manson, for putting on a wonderful and well-done play! Mrs. Manson was assisted by Mrs. Jean Lafave.

Pictured left to right: RBA Dean of K-2 curriculum Jennifer London, Highlands Instructor and Assistant Director of Memoria Press Dr. Brett Vaden, RBA Dean of 3-8 English and History Doug Franks, and Director of the Classical Latin School Association Martin Cothran.

Leland—“The Roger Bacon Academy program is one of few that truly understands what education is—and one of even fewer who know how to do it well,” said Martin Cothran, Director of the Classical Latin School Association and author of five classical textbooks.

Cothran’s review comes after two days of observations at Charter Day School in Leland and Douglass Academy in Wilmington, two public charter schools using the classical education program of The Roger Bacon Academy, Inc. (RBA). Cothran’s visit is the most recent in a series of visits between curriculum specialists from RBA and staff from the prestigious Highlands Latin School, which last year saw 44 percent of its graduating class named National Merit Scholars—the odds of which are 1 in 300 million.

RBA is an educational management company that provides classical curriculum to four free and public charter schools in southeastern NC. These schools employ similar rigorous English, Latin, and History curricula to that used at Highlands Latin School.

How is it possible for a public school to implement a program with private-school rigor? To close achievement gaps that can be created by a public school’s higher volume of students and diverse student populations, RBA’s program for its client public charter schools has embedded within the curricula heavy usage of the field-proven Direct Instruction teaching method

A credit to these classical programs— in addition to Highlands’ astronomical percentage of National Merit Scholars and Ivy League alumni— the two mature schools managed by RBA are consistently each the highest scoring schools in their respective districts by margins of nearly 20 percentage points.

Of note, Highlands Latin School is a private school serving approximately 600 students in grades K-12. The aforementioned top-scoring RBA schools, Charter Day School and Columbus Charter School, are tuition-free, open enrollment public charter schools serving approximately 900 students each in grades K-8.

In October, RBA Curriculum Author and Latin Coordinator, Jessica Lopez, traveled to Louisville, Kentucky to observe a week of instruction and meet with staff at Highlands Latin School. The objective was to share best practices and learn ways to enhance RBA’s classical education program. Lopez reported on her return that, “We share the same high expectations for all of our students. We share the same rigorous curriculum in History, Latin and English. While, as a public school, we serve a larger and more diverse student population, we are able to provide a similarly rigorous curriculum by combining it with the Direct Instruction teaching method. Direct Instruction provides a highly structured classroom environment and sees that our students are engaged in learning 100% of the time.”

As Latin Coordinator for RBA’s client schools, Lopez described the benefits of Latin classes for all students. “Our Latin curriculum begins in fourth grade and provides students at our client schools with an increase in vocabulary, a better understanding of English grammar and the everlasting gift of logic to advance their high-order thinking skills,” she explained.

In early November, staff from Highlands Latin School traveled to Charter Day School to observe RBA’s classical program at work. In particular, they observed the classical curriculum’s implementation in tuition-free public charter schools—which means serving substantially larger and more diverse student bodies, all while charging no tuition and receiving only limited public funding.

As a result, most often, classical education is only practicable in a private school setting due to the rigor of the program. Also, traditional public schools must use a curriculum determined by the state, which in North Carolina is Common Core. Public charter schools, however, have the freedom to select their own curricula in exchange for receiving limited public funding.

RBA Founder, Baker Mitchell, states, “Highlands Latin School is the pinnacle of what seemingly-impossible achievements are unlocked by classical education. Before graduating high school, the students at their private school are fluent in both Latin and Greek, as well as trained in the disciplines of logic and philosophy. Highlands’ graduates frequently achieve our country’s highest academic designations and university privileges. At RBA, we have brought access to similar K-8 classical education to the public, for free, via public charter schools.”

The four public charter schools that use RBA’s classical education model are Charter Day School in Leland, Columbus Charter School in Whiteville, Douglass Academy in downtown Wilmington, and South Brunswick Charter School in Southport.

“Our partnership with Highlands allows us to work closely with the best in the industry as we work to continually add value for our students. Highlands’ partnership with us allows them to learn about scaling their product for public implementation. RBA continually works to make top education accessible to the public, and free,” Mitchell continued.

The four classical public charter schools managed by RBA will begin enrolling for the 2016-2017 school year on January 1, 2016. For more information, please visit www.rogerbacon.net.