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Wilmington—The first day at school is always a big milestone in every child’s life. Superintendent Mark Cramer welcomes parents and students to their new home at Douglass Academy at Peabody.
“We are all excited about this big day in the opening of this wonderful facility with its high ceilings and huge windows making it a bright and cheerful environment for learning,” said Mr. Cramer. The completely renovated and carpeted classrooms feature the latest in computer technology for the teachers and students.

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Posted: Aug 26, 2013 5:47 PM EDT
Updated: Aug 26, 2013 5:48 PM EDT
By: Ann McAdams
 

Charter school enrollment up as school year begins

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WILMINGTON, NC (WECT) – It’s back to school for thousands of children in our area. This is the first year we’re starting to see the results of the state’s move to allow more charter schools. There are dozens of new charters across the state, including 5 in our area.

The number of local parents choosing to send their children to charter schools is having a measurable impact on enrollment at traditional schools.

Douglass Academy in downtown Wilmington will open its doors for the first time Tuesday to students in grades K-2. As of last week, Headmaster Barbra Jones said they’d filled 57 of their

75 spots. She said they are still accepting students. “The main thing is to get the word out, that parents know it’s a tuition free school.”

It can be challenging for new charter schools to fill all seats their first year, since many parents wait to see if a school is successful before enrolling their children. Parents tell us the fact that Douglass is being run by Roger Bacon Academy – a charter school organization with a proven track record – gives them confidence.

“They are known in the community for their excellence and for their teaching ability, and for their one on one teaching instruction, and their teachers are always very well qualified,” said parent Melissa Gott of her decision to send her daughter to kindergarten at Douglass Academy.

Island Montessori School, the new charter school near Carolina Beach has 142 of its 144 spots filled. Cape Fear Center for Inquiry, established in 2000, has a steady enrollment of 372 charter students. Wilmington Preparatory Academy has 132 students, with some spots still available in all classes except 1st and 5th grade.

In Columbus County, the new Flemington Academy has 65 students enrolled so far. The SEGS Academy in Delco has enrolled 102 students. Columbus Charter School in Whiteville isn’t new, but has added 100 students since last year, bringing its total enrollment to 841.

In neighboring Bladen County, the Paul R. Brown Leadership Academy has enrolled 75 students so far in its military-style school.

Brunswick County added no new charter schools this year, but Charter Day school in Leland enrolls 932 students.

Traditional public schools tell us the growth of charter schools appears to be impacting their enrollment.

At last check, Bladen County Schools had 4810 students enrolled, down 175 students from last year. Once enrollment is complete, they were expecting their numbers to be flat or slightly down compared to last year.

On Friday, New Hanover County Schools reported their current enrollment at 25,584, which was 236 students below projections.

Columbus County Schools reported enrollment of 5,603 on the first day of school, down about 200 from the end of last school year. Brunswick County Schools were projecting an opening enrollment of 12,481, which is up by about 80 students compared to last year, and is consistent with annual growth rates in that county school system.

All of these numbers are subject to change, as many students don’t register until the first day of school.

But these enrollment numbers are extremely important for school districts’ bottom lines, because they determine how much tax money each district gets.

Updated 04/25/2013 07:40 PM

By: Amy Elliott

WILMINGTON — A new charter school is coming soon to Wilmington.

The Doors of the Douglass Academy are set to open this fall for Kindergarten through second-graders. The Peabody building in downtown Wilmington at 507 N.6th Street, also the former Head Start building,will serve as the school’s site.

The school will be run by the Roger Bacon Academy which already operates two other schools, one in Leland and the other in Whiteville. School leaders said their model will be beneficial to children in the community.

“We’re very focused on social behavior for the children and that gives you an orderly environment in the classroom so learning can take place,” said Charter Day School trustee Baker Mitchell.

Barbra Jones will be the Headmaster at Douglass Academy.

“I am hoping that this will be a model school not only for the community of Wilmington, but a charter school that others will want to mirror,” said Jones.

Anyone that would like information about enrollment, visit the school website.

After two failed tries, a Wilmington charter school set to open in August will likely set up shop in the Peabody Center on N. 6th Street.

Douglass Academy, a charter school geared toward students living in Wilmington low-income and public housing units such as Jervay, Hillcrest, Houston Moore and Greenfield Village, will likely pay nonprofit Friends of New Hanover County Community Action $1 a year for 15 years to lease the building, said Baker Mitchell, president of The Roger Bacon Academy, the charter school management company that will run Douglass Academy. That will likely be formally approved by the charter school’s board on April 25, Mitchell said.

The Peabody Center marks the third housing change for Douglass Academy since it received preliminary approval to open as a charter school from the state Board of Education in late 2012. The school originally wanted to build a new structure at South 13th and South 14th streets along Greenfield Street and had gotten that site approved by the city.

But the city’s approval included zoning requirements that changed the structure of the building and upped the cost. Other regulations limited the amount of playground space students could use.

So Douglass Academy moved to Plan B: using the old Lakeside High School building, less than half a mile from the original space and currently not in use. The Roger Bacon Academy filed a lease to rent the building for $1 a year for 30 years and offered to pay for renovations like asbestos removal and a leaky roof. The school board rejected that, submitting instead a lease for $72,000 a year for 15 years.

Mitchell wouldn’t accept those terms and met with school officials in early March to tell them so. Mitchell’s reasoning stems from a state law that governs property leases between local school districts and charter schools. The law says that local school districts “shall lease any available building or land to the charter school unless the board demonstrates that the lease is not economically or practically feasible,” and that the local school board “may provide a school facility to a charter school free of charge.”

“Our interpretation is if it’s an unused facility, then we’re entitled to use it as long as we pay for upkeep and maintenance and all that,” Mitchell said.

At that point, the school board decided to reduce the rent further to try to accommodate Mitchell, said school board attorney Wayne Bullard. The board unanimously approved a new lease at its April 16 work session that would set the rent at $54,000 a year for 15 years.

Bullard said the board wanted to charge rent as a way to recoup what they’d lose while Douglass Academy was using it. But Mitchell viewed rent above $1 a year as a way for the school district to make money.

“Why penalize Douglass kids to give a windfall revenue to the noncharter kids?” he said. “I think we ought to treat all our kids the same and not penalize one set over the other.”

Douglass Acadmey will open in August for kindergarten through second grades, expanding through fifth grade by 2017. Students can submit applications for enrollment through May 17.

Charter School to open in downtown Wilmington in the fall of 2013.

 “It was very gratifying to hear the State Board of Education unanimously vote to approve our application for Douglass Academy,” said Barbra Jones, Director of New School Development, and Community Relations at The Roger Bacon Academy.

The approved application calls for a K-5 elementary charter school serving 425 students located near the Greenfield and Houston-Moore communities in Wilmington.  The school will open in the fall of 2013, with Kindergarten, first grade, and second grade classes. Douglass will then add a new kindergarten class each year, moving the children up a grade until all six grades are served.

According to Jones, the charter is still subject to final approval by the State Board of Education next spring contingent on satisfactory plans for a facility. Several options for a facility in the Greenfield and 13^th Street area are being pursued.

The school will be governed by the Charter Day School Board of Trustees and the daily operations will be under Ms. Jones as Headmaster.

“I look forward to extending our successful thirteen-year academic track record that we have established in Whiteville and Leland,” said Dr. Lee Monroe, a board member of the school.  “We believe that offering the parents a choice will increase the enthusiasm and interest of parents in all schools, not just Douglass Academy, and we look forward to cooperating with the other public schools in the county,” Monroe added.

Douglass Academy will be a tuition-free public charter school and will be open to all children whose parents believe that its mission and values will benefit their children.  In the coming weeks additional information will be made available about the school.

The Roger Bacon Academy schools are tuition-free, open enrollment public charter schools in southeastern North Carolina. Since 2000, RBA has focused on quality education and develops premier performance-driven year round schools. Widely recognized as a compelling choice to conventional public education, the organization has built a reputation for dedicated and highly qualified teachers that give students a strong and proven academic foundation.  RBA schools have received numerous awards, including the designation of being a Top-25 School for Academic Growth and Excellence in the state of North Carolina.

www.rogerbacon.net  -  “Truth Survives”