Back to School 2021 at Chatham Charter

Over 560 students in kindergarten through twelfth grade at Chatham Charter School in Siler City will begin a new school year on Wednesday, August 11. Open House was held on Monday, August 9, from 4:00-7:00pm.

The pandemic constraints led to some students being on campus during the last school year, but others choosing to remain fully remote. Chatham Charter will have all students on campus as the 2021-2022 school year begins. Focal areas will be resetting and revitalizing. Resetting will involve reestablishing normal school routines supported by strong work ethic and revitalizing will include focused attention on raising rigorous academic expectations to even higher levels. 

Staff will take a Youth Mental Health First Aid course during workdays to better recognize common mental health challenges experienced by youth. The workshop is part of a state requirement for schools  to implement plans that promote student mental health and well-being. 

Elementary teachers in kindergarten through fourth grade will build upon a summer recovery program they held to serve potentially at-risk students in an effort to better prepare them for the upcoming school year.

An ongoing area of focus school-wide is college preparedness that begins in elementary school with teaching solid skills for success that lead to a young person who will flourish after high school graduation.

The Career and College Promise (CCP) program is a key element of the high school academic program at Chatham Charter. The state program is in partnership with Central Carolina Community College (CCCC) and gives eleventh and twelfth graders the ability to earn over 40 college transfer credits. The classes are considered “dual credit” because they also help the students simultaneously meet high school graduation requirements and accumulate college transfer credits. The majority of seniors at Chatham Charter will complete one of the “pathways” of study, an accomplishment not achieved by the majority of students across the state in the CCP program. The Chatham Charter high school program is modeled after a middle college concept. Its master schedule has both high school and college-level courses built in versus allowing upperclassmen to take the CCP courses if they can fit them into the high school schedule. Juniors and seniors will have some classes on the CCCC campuses in yet another of Chatham Charter’s purposeful steps toward preparing them for college life.

In the area of athletics, the athletic program offers over 30 sports teams for middle and high school students. Chatham Charter is a member of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA). The Knights high school teams are in the Central Tarheel Conference. Knights middle school athletic teams are part of the Mid-State Conference. Fall season high school sports began on August 2nd; middle school sports will begin on August 17th.

During the 2021-2022 school year, Chatham Charter is commemorating the 25th anniversary of the North Carolina charter school law and Chatham Charter’s approval in 1997 as one of the first 100 public charter schools in the state. There will be activities throughout the school year for the Board of Directors, leadership, staff, students, families, and alumni to recognize the school’s silver anniversary. Knights Family Weekend, inspired by the school’s 20th anniversary, will be held Friday and Saturday, October 1&2.

“Coming into the new school year with an atmosphere of celebration will bolster everyone’s spirits after a challenging period in education. Our goal is to use this milestone as a motivator for everyone to ‘thrive at 25’ and help us soar into the next phase of the life of Chatham Charter,” said Dr. John Eldridge, Head of School.