Why NC’s 2 low-performing virtual charter schools say they should be renewed
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Two virtual charters face first formal renewal after decade of pilot extensions.
- NC Virtual Academy and NC Cyber cite academic gains and expanded remediation plans.
- Review Board must weigh unclear renewal criteria and persistent low performance.
After a decade of legislative protection, two low-performing North Carolina virtual charter schools must now justify for the first time why they should be allowed to remain open.
The North Carolina Cyber Academy and the North Carolina Virtual Academy have been allowed by state lawmakers to operate as pilot programs since they opened in 2015. Now that the pilot status is ending, leaders of both online schools lobbied Wednesday for the N.C. Charter Schools Review Board to renew them for five years.
“We have a plan,” said Sara Struhs, executive director of N.C. Virtual Academy. “We have the people and we have the resources. All we need now is support from you to realize our shared vision.”
The Review Board is expected to make a decision on whether and for how long to renew both schools early next year.
Operating as a pilot program since 2015
Charter schools are taxpayer-funded schools that are exempt from some of the rules that traditional public schools must follow. Nearly all of North Carolina’s 200-plus charter schools are brick-and-mortar schools.
Forty charter schools are up for renewal at the end of this school year. The State Office of Charter Schools has recommendations for how long each school should be renewed — except for the two virtual charters.
The reason is part of the unique history of both online schools. They opened in 2015 after the General Assembly required two online charter schools to be approved.
Both schools were originally approved as four-year pilot programs that legislators kept extending.
“They never had to do renewals,” said Ashley Logue, director of the N.C. Office of Charter Schools. “The legislation just continued to extend the pilot so they’ve never been through this process.”
What’s different now is that legislation passed in 2023 ended the pilot program at the end of this school year. The legislation allowed both schools to apply for five-year renewals as remote charter academies.
But state statute doesn’t define what guidelines the Review Board should use for renewing them. The fact that both schools are designated by the state as continually low-performing could be a factor.
“The four-year record here, I mean it’s not a good look,” said Rita Haire, a Review Board member.
N.C. Virtual Academy: ‘We can do better’
N.C. Virtual Academy is the larger of the two virtual schools with 4,000 students statewide. It’s run by online learning provider Stride Inc.
NCVA has been a continually low-performing school with a D school performance grade for most of its history. An exception was the 2022-23 school year, when it had a C grade and exceeded growth targets on state exams.
“We were all disappointed when the school grades came out this year,” Struhs told the Review Board. “We can do better because we’ve done it. Our pathway forward for this is clear.”
NCVA cited as an issue a significant rise in the number of students who are three or more years below their current grade level. Struhs said the school has committed to spending additional funding to expand remediation services for its K-8 students for the next five years.
The school said there are reasons for optimism, including academic gains in elementary school reading.
N.C. Cyber Academy: ‘We’ve adapted’
N.C. Cyber Academy says it is also seeing steady growth in its academic performance.
The school has been a continually low-performing school with a D grade since it opened. But Martez Hill, the school’s superintendent, pointed to gains in the school performance score, graduation rate, attendance rate and participation rate on state exams.
Hill said N.C. Cyber now has the largest career and technical education (CTE) program of any charter school in the state.
“Over the past four years, N.C. Cyber has learned,” Hill said. “We’ve adapted and we’ve grown.”
Last school year, N.C. Cyber served 2,442 students. It originally opened as N.C. Connections Academy and was run by Pearson Virtual Schools.
The school split off from Pearson in 2019 and became an independent virtual charter school.
Pearson will return to North Carolina in 2026 after the Review Board approved a new N.C. Connections Academy.
This story was originally published November 13, 2025 at 6:15 AM with the headline "Why NC’s 2 low-performing virtual charter schools say they should be renewed."
