The mission of Henderson Collegiate is to empower students with the character traits, academic skills, social experiences, and love of learning necessary for them to shape their own destinies, attend and graduate from the college of their choice and become world-changing problem solvers.
Henderson Collegiate is one of the best public charter schools in Henderson, NC. We are open to all students; race, income, and prior academic success are not considered or asked about when enrolling at Henderson Collegiate. Our school opened in the Summer of 2010 with just a 4
th grade and is adding a new grade level with each new academic year. Transportation is available to all students that live further than 1 ½ miles from the school and within Henderson’s city limits. A breakfast and lunch program is provided through the Community Eligibility Program so that all students are eligible to receive free meals (
see CEP public release here). Enrollment and Open House dates are available on the
school calendar and advertised through the local media.
Please click here to access our 2023-24 Schoolwide Plan of Goals and Strategies.
Henderson Collegiate replicates a model that its
founders have already immersed themselves in and implemented through their experience with
Teach For America and the
Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP). Beginning with the belief that all students can learn and the explicit expectation of college success, the model is rooted in an ethic of hard work and extensive time on task. The school day runs from 7:50 am to 4:00 pm and the year includes a mandatory summer school program. Every year, our students benefit from 5 extra school days, or about 36 hours. Over the course of grades four through eight, that translates to 180 hours, or an extra 25 school days overall!
More time only matters if used meaningfully and purposefully towards the goal of college success. Rather than tracking students and keeping with a false choice between standards-based instruction and intervention, Henderson Collegiate fully utilizes its extended time through a dual curriculum. The model provides rigorous, college-prep core courses and support for students needing remediation. A Reading Intervention Block, Math Intervention Block, and Tutorial Program are integrated into the daily schedule. To ensure independent reading practice, time is also blocked off for silent reading. For English Language Learners, the English Language Proficiency SCOS is integrated into the curriculum for each course, with a professional development focus on second language acquisition.
At Henderson Collegiate, the academic expectations are exceeded only by our expectations for student behavior and decision making. Instruction matters greatly, but it is only truly maximized when students feel an empowered sense of purpose and desire to learn. This kind of value of, and curiosity for, knowledge must be developed within an atmosphere of safety, order, and respect. We foster an environment focused on learning by explicitly teaching and constantly reinforcing listening skills. Students wear uniforms to eliminate distractions and clearly emphasize our educational purpose. Most importantly, we build a collective identity amongst each class and between all students to build positive peer pressure and individual leadership. The value of such a safe and supportive environment cannot be overstated.
Henderson Collegiate also embraces the reality that student success relies on strong relationships with parents and community members. Schools are often roped off from the resources that reside in the community and in the home, creating miscommunication and counterproductive conflicts. The Henderson Collegiate experience begins with a home visit, which establishes honest dialogue about the school’s expectations for students, parents, and teachers. The Commitment to Excellence (see below) provides a clear set of responsibilities for each party, improving future communication and enabling greater cooperation. This home-school contact is maintained as parents sign student planners nightly to stay informed about their child’s homework. Students also take home a weekly “paycheck” which explains their academic and character habits for the week and must also be signed by parents. Henderson Collegiate also seeks to bring families and communities into the school through structured social gatherings, learning opportunities, and resources that directly benefit them. Click here to view Henderson Collegiate’s Title I Parent Involvement Policy.
History of Henderson Collegiate
- Led by Eric and Carice Sanchez, a group of concerned Vance County residents get together to discuss and plan out a program that leads students to achieve success more systematically.
- Henderson Collegiate opens for its first 100 4th grade students, the Pride of 2019, with just eight full-time staff members in a modular unit on Health Center Road.
- Henderson Collegiate receives its first test results for the spring of 2011. The program achieves all AYP goals and is recognized as a School of High Growth and a School of Distinction.
For the 2011-2012 school year, the school expands to 200 students in the 4th and 5th grades, and acquires another modular unit addition to its facility. - For the program's second year of results (from 2012 EOGs), Henderson Collegiate again achieves all AYP goals and earns recognition as a School of High Growth and a School of Distinction.
Enrollment for the new 2012-13 school year expands to 300 students in the 4th – 6th grades with more than 20 full-time staff membes and a new modular unit. The program begins offering band as a core class for all 6th grade students, free of charge. - The school receives its first data since the transition to the Common Core Standards. The school Exceeds Expected Growth and achieves a composite score of 50%.
For the 2014-15 school year, Henderson Collegiate adds another modular unit and grows to a staff of 36 serving 400 students in grades 4-7. The school begins its new athletics program for 6th and 7th grade students. - 2014 test results again Exceed Expected Growth, and for its first School Performance Grade, Henderson Collegiate earns the only B in Vance County. The school earns an overall composite score of 71% and achieves 100% of its EVAAS Growth Goals.
In fall 2014, the school grows to 46 full-time staff members serving 500 students in grades 4-8. Henderson Collegiate joins an Athletic Conference and begins leasing classroom spaces from the Boys and Girls Club of North Central North Carolina in their Clark Street facility. Construction begins on a new middle school facility to be located off of Old Epsom Road a few miles away. - Henderson Collegiate earns an A+NG School Performance Grade (along with only 2.8% of NC public schools). The school again achieves 100% of its EVAAS Growth Goals and Exceeds Expected Growth. It is further recognized as a Title I Reward School for the third consecutive year.
For the 2015-16 school year, the new middle school facility on Old Epsom Road is opened for the 500 students in grades 4-8, and the program opens a new high school with its 100 founding 9th grade students. - Henderson Collegiate Elementary School opens with our founding Kindergarten Pride, the Pride of 2029!
For the 2nd year in a row, Henderson Collegiate earns the A+NG school performance grade and is in the top 3.4% of all NC public schools.
- Henderson Collegiate 3-peats - earning the A+NG school performance grade for its 3rd consecutive year, placing it in the top 3.5% of all NC public schools. Henderson Collegiate Elementary School adds its 1st grade and Henderson Collegiate High School adds the 11th grade.
- Our Founding Pride of 2019 enters their senior year of high school and begins attending Henderson Collegiate High School in our newly constructed High School facility, which opens next to our Middle School at 1071 Old Epsom Rd. in Henderson.
Henderson Collegiate Elementary School adds 2nd grade and is only one year from completion.
- Henderson Collegiate graduated its first class, the Trailblazing Pride of 2019, with 100% of students accepted to a 4-year college or university, $3.6 million in total merit scholarships, and our first Questbridge scholar. In Fall 2019, the school completed its growth by adding its final grade level, the 3rd grade, so that the school now serves over 1,300 students across grades K-12.
- Henderson Collegiate graduated its second Pride of 2020 with 100% of students accepted to a 4-year college or university, $7.5 million in total merit scholarships, and Questbridge scholar for 2 consecutive years.
- Due to the coronavirus pandemic and state-mandated closing of schools for in-person learning, Henderson Collegiate was able to pivot and ensure every student had 1:1 technology with internet access at home and provided synchronous remote learning. We graduated our third Pride of 2021 with 100% of students accepted to a 4-year college or university, $10.7 million in total merit scholarships, and Questbridge scholar for 3 consecutive years.
- Henderson Collegiate graduated its fourth Pride of 2022 with 100% of students accepted to a 4-year college or university, $17.04 million in total merit scholarships, and a Questbridge scholar for 4 consecutive years. We also earned the distinction of being the highest academic growth of all 2700+ traditional and public schools in NC (NCDPI School Report Card data reported September 2022).
Henderson Collegiate | NC Public Charter School | Henderson, NC (252) 598-1038
