The main difference between a charter school and a traditional public school comes mostly from funding. Charter schools only receive a partial amount per pupil funding. Charters must use those funds to manage their budgets. Charters do not get additional funding for maintenance or transportation as their local LEAs have access to. Another difference is that charter schools are run by a Board of Directors. The Board of Directors is made up of community members and parent-elected members. This gives parents a voice in the future of education for their students. Each charter acts as its on LEA (local education agency). Therefore, Clover Garden School is not associated with any other LEA such as local school districts. Charters are all written differently. To learn more about how Clover Garden’s charter was written, please see our “About us” page.
We are a tuition-free public school.
Our average class sizes range depending on grade level. In grades K-5, we adhere to a maximum of 25 students or less. The same is true for our Middle School classrooms. However, depending on the classroom, some class sizes can range from 8 students to 27 students. In high school, we offer smaller and intimate settings. Traditionally, we have had class sizes of 3 students up to class sizes of 20, depending on the courses being offered.
As of the 2018-2019 academic year we have a student body of 655 students.
The Clover Garden school day begins at 8:00AM and we dismiss at 3:00PM.
Yes, our school follows all state standardized testing and our teachers use the North Carolina Standard Course of Study to drive their instruction.
By North Carolina law, charter schools must have at least 50% of their teachers licensed. At Clover Garden, we strive to be above 80%. Currently, 93% of our teachers are licensed in grades K-12.
Yes, we believe that going on field trips enhance the educational value of the content area in which students are learning about. Students will have the opportunity to be exposed to real-life social situations as they embark on the educational value that field trips offer. Our students have been all over the US as well as overseas to places such as: Spain, Italy, France, Ireland, Bahamas, and more. Each grade level is given the opportunity to participate and attend a field trip each year. Academic and behavioral records are reviewed for student eligibility.
Our Arts department is continuing to grow each and every year! We offer arts to all of our students beginning in elementary school. We offer music, dance, art, band, and theater to our students. There are also opportunities where the different departments collaborate for big shows together. Our band department competes locally against other programs. Our art classes have had work displayed locally as well as at the state level. This upcoming school year, we will be offering band to our elementary aged students which is new for Clover Garden. Our arts department is very innovative and are always looking for additional ways to engage the community in activities
Yes, our Athletics department has grown significantly in the past year. Our high school is now part of the 1A North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA). This past year, 3 of our Varsity teams received the Sportsmanship Award, making us the only team in our conference to receive that many awards in one year. We are very proud of the competitive spirit of our student-athletes, but also in their character to demonstrate respect and sportsmanship in every event.
Yes, Clover Garden offers a Before and After School program. Our before school program opens at 6:00 A.M. until 7:30 A.M. and our after school program opens at 3:00 P.M. until 6:00 P.M. More information about our Before and Afterschool program can be found on the Before and Afterschool page.
We operate on a lottery system. The lottery opens on January 1stand ends in March. The lottery draw is done electronically through a program called “Lotterease”. All prospective families must “re-apply” each year as the waiting list does not “roll-over.”
