School Quality Cohort is open to leaders of existing charter schools looking to identify and implement specific levers of change to improve their school’s outcomes. This 18-month award provides established schools the opportunity to engage with other school leaders around shared needs in tandem with school-specific coaching and partnerships.

To better understand the leaders and schools GSNC is seeking to partner with, review our Ideal Candidate Profile for a complete picture of the characteristics, experiences, and leadership capabilities we look for in strong candidates.

• Priority Preferences

  • Independent, single-site schools (i.e., not affiliated with an EMO or CMO)

  • In-person school programs (i.e., no fully-virtual programs)

  • Schools serving students whose educational opportunities have historically been limited, including Black students, Hispanic students, students from low-income households, Exceptional Children, Multilingual Learners, and other students impacted by economic barriers, systemic inequities, or unmet academic needs

• Qualifications

  • School leader has been in place for at least one full school year

  • Two years of available state test data (SY24-25 and SY25-26)

  • Rating of D or higher on most recent NC School Report Card

  • Met or exceeded growth on most recent NC School Report Card

• Funding

  • $150,000 in direct grants per school

• Grantee Experience Overview

  • Phase 1 - Planning & Readiness (Months 1-6): Indirect grant dollars to support programming focused on capacity-building in critical support areas; structured opportunities for grantees to connect and collaborate. 

  • Phase 2 -  Implementation (Months 7 - 18): Direct grant dollars to support "Big Bet" implementation; programming to support successful execution and academic & instructional arc of the year.

Select the “i” icon in the top right corner of each page for technical assistance.

If you have questions about the application, please contact grants@greatschoolsnc.org.