The North Carolina Charter Schools Review Board has denied an application for a proposed New Hanover County charter school that would offer English-American Sign Language dual-language instruction. 

While the review board expressed support for the school’s educational plan, it denied the application at its Sept. 8 meeting, citing concerns about the project’s accelerated timeline, the site’s pending rezoning and whether the school could maintain adequate staffing and student support services within its projected budget. 

According to a spokesperson for the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI), the denial has been appealed, and an appeal hearing is expected in November, although the State Board of Education has not yet set a date.

The State Board will review the appeal “de novo,” or anew from start to finish, and must issue a written decision within 60 days of receiving a notice of appeal.  

New Hanover County currently has seven charter schools, and founding board members have described Darden-Perry Academy as one of the first ASL-English dual-language immersion schools in North Carolina if approved.

Rebecca Darden-Perry submitted the application and would serve as the school's head and executive director for the first five years of operation, according to the application. According to the application materials, Darden-Perry has a Ph.D. in Special Education Administration, previous experience designing inclusive instructional systems and fluency in ASL. 

Darden-Perry could not be immediately reached for comment. 

Darden-Perry Academy is proposed for the former 41,360-square-foot Miller-Motte College educational facility at 5000 Market St. The school would be tuition-free. 

According to the application, the facility's owner, 500 Market Street, LLC, authorized Darden-Perry Academy to pursue rezoning the property from its current commercial services zoning to a regional business district. The school also needs an educational certificate of occupancy (ECO) for the facility, which some reviewers flagged as a concern given its proposed accelerated timeline. 

According to Darden-Perry, who spoke at the application meeting, the rezoning is scheduled to go before the Wilmington Planning Commission on Oct. 7, with the Wilmington City Council expected to consider the request Nov. 3. 

The application notes that the school has not yet secured a Letter of Intent for the facility, which reviewers flagged as a major concern given the project’s accelerated timeline and proposed July 2027 opening. 

There are “minimal” upfits required for the Miller-Motte campus, Darden-Perry said at the meeting. 

When the review board asked during the Sept. 8 meeting why the school was pursuing an accelerated timeline, Darden-Perry cited the overwhelming response from families, saying the school’s website generated interest from more than 300 families during its first month online. 

“It was heart-throbbing,” she said. “I originally was only going to do 100 (students), but there are going to be children on a waiting list, and it hurts my heart the longer we have to wait to open this school.”

Nevertheless, reviewers expressed concern over the lack of detailed community support and partnership in the application. 

“Evidence of support for the proposed school is very limited in the area immediately surrounding the proposed school,” a reviewer wrote in an evaluation of the application. “This raises concerns that the proposed school could meet its enrollment targets.”

The school would follow a year-round model with nine weeks of instruction followed by a two-week intersession, the application stated. The educational model would integrate ASL throughout instruction. 

The school proposed a “phased growth model,” initially opening with 200 students in grades K-8, with plans to phase in high school grade levels sequentially until reaching full K-12 implementation after the fifth year, with a projected 500 students. 

The board denied the application based on concerns over the feasibility of its timeline and budget – especially as it relates to support staff, teacher-to-student ratios, student support services and benefits. 

Because the school would not serve lunches during its initial startup phase and would not initially participate in the National School Lunch and Community Eligibility Provision programs, reviewers noted the decision not to provide food was “incongruent with the school’s focus on inclusivity and accessibility.”