Recent debates about proposed charter schools in Durham and Orange counties have many wondering how the racial and ethnic makeup of charter schools compares to district schools. Thanks to the NC Department of Public Instruction (DPI), we have part of the answer. This week, the NC DPI released “Facts and Figures 2011-12,” a one page guide to public schools in North Carolina.
Statewide, the percentage distribution of students by ethnicity is reasonably similar in both charter and district schools. Charter schools have a lower percentage of Hispanic students because Hispanic parents remain reticent about sending their children to charters. I suspect that this factor also inflates the percentage of White charter students, although it is difficult to know for sure.
(Note: NC has 2,412 district schools and 100 charter schools)
Ethnic Distribution (Fall 2011)
American Indian
District: 1.4%
Charter: 1.0%
Asian
District: 2.5%
Charter: 2.2%
Black
District: 26.3%
Charter: 26.7%
Hispanic
District: 13.5%
Charter: 5.8%
White
District: 52.5%.
Charter: 60.8%
Pacific Islander
District: 0.1%.
Charter: 0.1%
Other
District: 3.7%
Charter: 3.4%
