North Carolina has been awarded a $10 million federal grant to expand its ACCESS program for charter schools, according to Kelly Hinchcliffe for WRAL.com.
The money will be used for Advancing Charter Collaboration and Excellence for Student Success or ACCESS to help educate students with limited access to quality education and professional preparedness programs, Hinchcliffe said.
The money will be used to expand already-established charter schools as well as new charter schools through 60 sub-grants. It will also help to create a community of charter school leaders to hold the best practices for teaching educationally disadvantaged students at a high standard, Hinchcliffe said.
Educationally disadvantaged students include those who are homeless, non-native English speakers, economically disadvantaged and other categories. Charter schools are unlike traditional public schools in that they are funded by the government but run privately. These schools do not charge tuition.