A jobs-focused charter school has received initial state approval to open in 2026 in fast-growing Chatham County.
The N.C. Charter Schools Review Board on Tuesday unanimously approved the application to open Granite Charter Academy in Pittsboro, near the Orange County border. The vote came after Granite leaders pitched how the proposed K-12 school would provide students with a rigorous education focused on career and technical education skills.
“Construction trades, culinary arts, nursing and environmental systems and applied technology are some of the professional pathways Granite will develop to meet the needs in the Silicon Valley of the East,” said Jim Crawford, member of Granite’s board of directors and former Chatham manager. County Commissioner. “It provides students with educational opportunities without taking on debt or having to travel far from their hometown.”
Granite is now going through the planning process. If everything is in order, the Review Board will give final approval in 2026.
Commitment to a varied registration
Granite would become Chatham County’s fourth charter school. More than 200 charter schools opened in North Carolina this school year.
Charter schools are exempt from some of the rules that traditional public schools must follow. But Granite leaders said they would strive for a diverse school population that reflects Chatham County’s population.
Granite plans to offer a selection lottery that will give priority to economically disadvantaged students. School leaders said they are also promoting Chatham’s growing Hispanic population.
The school also plans to offer bus service to students and participate in the federal school lunch program.
“I told them (Granite) isn’t going to look good when I look up and it’s 80% white people in this school,” said Cheryl Littlejohn, a Granite board member and education consultant. “I’m that person who’s going to make sure we execute what we set out to do.”
Business support
The school plans to open in 2026 with 554 K-6 students and add a grade level each year. The plan is to eventually expand to 1,500 elementary, middle and high school students.
Crawford said Chatham County needs a technical school.
Granite is supported by a number of business groups, including the Homebuilders Association of Durham, Orange & Chatham Counties. School leaders said they have already received financial commitments from some groups.
“I find it particularly attractive that this is a school that will largely emerge from a business community that sees a need and is willing to step in and help create the kind of school that can meet that need,” said Bartley Danielsen, a Review board member.
“There are a lot of business people who want to get involved in education and they are very frustrated when they get involved in the typical public school system.”
Success after initial rejection
Granite initially applied as a K-8 charter school in 2022 but was denied. Granite leaders said they had learned from the earlier rejection.
“I know they were rightly discouraged at the end of 2022,” said Review Board Chairman Bruce Friend. “But I think they’ve taken on board the concerns we raised at the time and the questions we had, and I think they’re actually stronger now.”
Review Board member Alex Quigley said the earlier rejection showed the value of setting high standards for charter schools.
“The people who really want it will come back,” Quigley said. “If there’s any hesitation, we just have to take a step back and say, ‘No, you have to wait another year.’”
Quigley also said it’s a plus that Granite plans to be locally run, unlike charter schools that are run by for-profit companies.
“We need strong local governments working together to create high-performing charters,” Quigley said. “These are still the best performing charters in the state, and I’m glad to see a very strong board that I think has done the job.”
