Daily Update - December 29, 2025

Charter Schools point the way to better education.

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About Reuel Sample

This is the Wilmington Standard Daily Update for Monday December 29th, 2025.

According to the Carolina Journal, North Carolina now ranks 4^th in the nation in the number of Charter Schools in operation. Just last year, the number of students enrolled in charter schools rose by 6%, while public schools saw a slight decline. Overall, just over 10% of all students in our state are enrolled in a charter school.

The Carolina Journal further reports:

[nationally in charter schools] enrollment has grown among Hispanic students by 22.6%, among black students by 10%, and white student enrollment is up 4.5%.

Charter Schools focus on the education of children in different ways. Some – like GLOW Academy here in Wilmington – only admit girls. Others in Wilmington – like the Classical Charter School – rely on the values and methods of traditional western civilization. Still others – such as the Cape Fear Center for Inquiry – go for a more wholistic, social-emotional learning model. In every charter school, parents are more highly involved, children are more individually engaged, and the results show that students in these schools outpace their public school peers in reading and math.

Public schools need to take notice. The vast majority of Charters are not unionized – which means they are child-focused and not teacher-focused. They respond much quicker to the concerns of parents and not idealogues. They generally have higher standards and higher goals for children instead of just teaching to the middle. And as more and more minorities and low-income students enroll in charter schools, they provide an educational opportunity that has generational impact.

As we head into an election year where the future of New Hanover’s education system is at stake – will we bow to the teacher’s unions and other special interests from the Left who hate charter schools – all alternate schools for that matter - and maintain the status quo of our public schools – or are we willing to think out of the box and actually educate our children.

For the Wilmington Standard, I’m Reuel Sample. Thanks for listening.

Reuel Sample is the Editor-in-Chief of The Wilmington Standard. A graduate of Grove City College and Princeton Theological Seminary, he has served as both a Presbyterian Pastor and a Navy Chaplain. He is the product of a classical liberal arts education combined with real world experience in politics and business and conservative Christian worldview firmly rooted in the Reformed tradition. He is the host of several podcasts including the NHC GOP Podcast, the Pastor's Voice, and co-hosts the Nikki and Reuel Podcast Experience. An avid sailor, he has sailed around the world as a youth and to the Azores as a teen as well as extensive trips up and down the east coast of the United States. He is honored to be married to his wife Pam and makes his home in Wilmington, NC.