Tarboro charter school to launch remote education program

An Edgecombe County charter school is one of seven in the state slated to begin a remote education program in the fall.

North East Carolina Prep School in Tarboro is accepting virtual high school students for the new school year to begin Aug. 12. Mark Cockrell, the charter school’s executive director, said a change in state law created an opportunity for the school to add an online option for new students.

“Obviously, there’s a need for it,” Cockrell said. “Education just continues to evolve. Families and parents and students have different circumstances; one size does not fit all anymore. This just kind of helps us complete our academic program.”

In 2022, the N.C. General Assembly passed legislation that gave public school districts the option of offering virtual academies, but charter schools were not included. A new bill passed in 2023 allowed remote programs to be operated by boards that have charter school campuses already in existence, Ashley Baquero, executive director of the state’s Office of Charter Schools, told The Center Square.

Other charters approved to begin remote academies are the following: Longleaf School of the Arts in Raleigh, Pine Springs Prep in Holly Springs, Uwharrie Charter in Asheboro, Carolina Charter Academy in Angier, Ascend Leadership Academy in Sanford and Telra Institute in Mecklenburg County.

North East Carolina Prep, like schools across the state and nation, began remote learning during the coronavirus pandemic. But after returning to in-person classes, the school began last fall to discuss making a remote learning option available to high school students.

“(At the time), you couldn’t amend your charter, but the legislative change allowed charter schools to amend their charter,” Cockrell said. “That opened the door for us.”

North East Carolina Prep ended the 2023-24 school year with about 1,050 students in prekindergarten through 12th grade. Cockrell said enrollment is expected to increase to 1,170 students in the new school year.

Up to 25 of those new students are expected to participate in the virtual program. Cockrell said the school hopes to increase virtual enrollment by as many as 25 students per year.

Cockrell said the goal is in the next year or so to offer the virtual learning option to middle school students.

“We won’t ever go into elementary, but hopefully we’ll go into middle school,” he said.

Now in its 12th year, the charter school currently serve students from six counties: Edgecombe, Nash, Halifax, Wilson, Martin and Pitt. But Cockrell said that the addition of the new remote option could open opportunities for students across the state.

“We have a wide footprint,” he said. “Our desire is for the counties we already serve, but we could conceivably take kids from anywhere.”

Online learners will be eligible to participate in extracurricular activities, including clubs and athletics (provided they meet requirements set by the N.C. High School Athletics Association).

School counselor Pippa Bryant will be in charge of the charter school’s remote academy. While none of the online classes will originate with North East Carolina Prep, teachers at the school will be available to tutor virtual students online if needed.

Students enrolled in the remote program will take online courses through the N.C. Virtual Public School and will have options for remote learning through Edgecombe Community College, N.C. Wesleyan University and the University of Mount Olive.

“We can give them everything online, and they can still not only pursue a high school education but can pursue something that’s going to lead to the workforce or college credit,” Cockrell said. “It just works for families. To us, it was just another piece of the academic puzzle to be able to serve these kids.”