Advocates celebrate 25 years of charter schools in NC, despite critics' concerns
Nina Pasquini, The News & Observer (Raleigh, N.C.)
Jun. 23—RALEIGH — Twenty-five years ago, Tim Taylor was entering the sixth grade when he learned that his local middle school in Pamlico County was shutting down.
That was also the year that North Carolina's General Assembly passed legislation authorizing charter schools across the state.
On Tuesday afternoon, as state leaders and charter school advocates gathered at the legislature to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the law, Taylor recalled his experience being a member of the inaugural class of charter schools.
After learning that the middle school was closing, Taylor said, families in his Eastern North Carolina hometown worked together to establish Arapahoe Charter School. He said the school was so community oriented that a local mechanic kept school buses in his backyard, a Sunday School teacher filled in when teachers were sick and he went on field trips to his teacher's garden.