Policies

How to apply, how the public lottery works, the weighted lottery for economically disadvantaged students, enrollment priorities under North Carolina law, and the documents needed to enroll.

Read the lottery and admissions policy

The purpose of this policy is to provide guidelines and directions for the resolution of grievances. The objective is to perpetuate a climate of collegiality, mutual trust and respect by resolving differences in a timely, objective and equitable manner. When informal resolution is unsuccessful, the student or parent or guardian may file a grievance. A grievance must be filed in writing, as close as possible to the time of the originating circumstances, and include (1) the name of the school employee or other individual whose decision or action is at issue; (2) the specific decision or action at issue; (3) any board policy, state or federal law, state or federal regulation, or procedure that the parent or guardian or student believes has been misapplied, misinterpreted or violated; and (4) the specific resolution desired.

Scope

This procedure deals with grievances that are not covered by other school policies or practices, such as the Employee Handbook or the Student Code of Conduct. Conflicts are often interpersonal in nature and usually fall into one of these categories: a parent’s conflict with another parent, a teacher, a student or a staff member; a teacher’s conflict with another teacher, a parent, a student or a staff member; a student’s conflict with another student, a parent, a teacher or a staff member; or a staff member’s conflict with another staff member, a parent or a teacher. Grievances involving established school policy are routinely referred to and handled by the Director.

Process

All levels of grievance resolution are documented.

Level 1: direct resolution. The process begins with a conversation between the aggrieved party and the person with whom he or she has the grievance. If the grievance is not resolved, the aggrieved party has 21 days to submit a formal grievance, in writing, to the Director. If the grievance is with the Director, the formal written grievance is submitted to the school’s leadership above the Director.

Level 2: administrative resolution. On receipt of the written grievance, the Director facilitates a second meeting between the involved parties and may propose solutions. If the aggrieved party is not satisfied with the resolution, the aggrieved party may submit a formal appeal to the leadership above the Director within 5 days, and that decision is final.

The manual names the schools’ management organization as the final level of appeal. The Board of Directors is updating that reference; until the update is adopted, appeals above the Director go to the Board.

The purpose of the conflict of interest policy is to protect the interests of the school when it is contemplating entering into a transaction or arrangement that might benefit the private interest of an officer or director of the school. It supplements, and does not replace, state and federal laws governing conflicts of interest that apply to nonprofit, public and charitable organizations in North Carolina.

An interested person is any director, officer or member of a committee with board-delegated powers who has a direct or indirect financial interest: an ownership or investment interest in an entity the school has a transaction or arrangement with, a compensation arrangement with the school or with such an entity, or a potential interest or arrangement with an entity the school is negotiating with. A financial interest is not necessarily a conflict of interest; the board or committee decides whether a conflict exists. The full policy, including the procedures for disclosure, recusal and annual statements, is sections 2 and 3 of the manual.

To further protect the interests of the school, the Board of Directors establishes the following provisions to avoid nepotism:

1. No employee of the charter school shall be immediate family to any member of the Board or to a charter school employee with supervisory authority unless the proposed employment is disclosed to the Board of Directors and approved by the Board in a duly called open session meeting. The burden of disclosure is on the applicable Board member or employee with supervisory authority.
2. No teacher or staff member who is the immediate family of the chief administrator shall be hired without the Board evaluating their credentials, establishing a structure to prevent conflicts of interest, and notifying the Department of Public Instruction, with evidence, that this process has occurred.

Each Board member signs an annual statement affirming that he or she has received, read, understood and agreed to comply with the conflict of interest policy.

The Board of Directors meets a minimum of eight times during the fiscal year. The meeting calendar is approved before the end of the previous fiscal year and posted at the school and on this website. Meetings are open to the public under the North Carolina Open Meetings Law.

Board of Directors, meeting schedule, agendas and minutes