The decision could leave the parents and guardians of 600 students in grades K-8 scrambling to find new schools in the fall. Many of Torchlight’s students live in Wake and surrounding counties.
Greg Childress, NC Newsline
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Torchlight Academy Faces Closure After State Charter School Advisory Board Recommendation
Despite its academic successes, CSAB Chairwoman Cheryl Turner said the missteps at Torchlight threatened federal school funding for the entire state.
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State Workers Can Use 24 Hours of Paid Community Service Leave to Help Ease K-12 Staffing Shortages
Gov. Cooper announced the plan to combat K-12 staff shortages brought on by a surge of COVID-19 cases. The strategy is intended to keep students in classrooms for in-person instruction where the experts say they learn best.
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Raleigh Charter Operator’s Three Rivers Academy Ordered Closed by State Board of Education
Three Rivers is managed by charter operator Don McQueen’s Torchlight Academy Schools LLC. McQueen’s flagship school, Torchlight Academy is also under intense state scrutiny.
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Year In Review: Critical Race Theory, Mask Mandates, and Leandro Funding Made for a Tumultuous 2021 in Education
In 2022, expect more of the same.
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“Grossly Negligent” N.C. Charter School Given 10 Days to Correct Problems or Face Steep Sanctions
State Board of Education Chairman Eric Davis said during Thursday’s special called meeting that the board is “deeply concerned” about Torchlight’s “widespread failure” to comply with federal education law.
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State Places Raleigh-Based Charter School On Probation for Failure to Comply With State and Federal Requirements
Altered documents and other findings prompted the Charter School Advisory Board on Tuesday to ask the State Board of Education to place Torchlight on probation. The K-8 school enrolls approximately 570 students.
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State Treasurer Dale Folwell Seeks Independent Legal Counsel, Delay in Leandro Court Order
Folwell, the State Controller Linda Combs, and state Budget Director Charles Perusse have been ordered to release state money to fund the first two years of a state-wide school improvement plan that grew out of the long-running Leandro court case.
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Critics Contend State Budget Proposal Misses the Mark on Education
“That’s a choice to prioritize tax cuts over complying with the court-mandated constitutional requirement to fund public education.”
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Leandro Judge Orders State to Fund $1.7B School Improvement Plan
Superior Court Judge David Lee said the state’s children can no longer wait to receive the sound basic education the state’s Constitution guarantees. The court, he said, has waited 17 years for the General Assembly to meet the constitutional mandate.
