Clover Garden School celebrates 25 years as Burlington charter school

Clover Garden School’s 25th anniversary came with something more durable than cake and confetti: a 10-year charter renewal that gives the Burlington school a long runway after a quarter-century of growth.

The celebration on April 25 brought students, staff, alumni and guests together to mark the school’s milestone year with artwork, early school memories, a band performance and color guard. But the numbers tell the sharper story. Clover Garden opened as a charter school in 2001 with about 275 students in kindergarten through eighth grade, then added a grade each year until it became a full K-12 campus.

That expansion has been steady enough to track in graduation statistics. Clover Garden said its first graduation came in 2006, when just six students made up the class. By 2019, the school said its graduating class had grown to 45 students, its largest at that point. For Burlington families, that trajectory shows a school that did not simply survive its first years but built a lasting pipeline from elementary grades through high school diplomas.

The anniversary also highlighted what a charter school can become when students cycle back as adults. Dr. Rose Miller Webster, a member of the first graduating class, returned to speak about how Clover Garden helped build her confidence and prepare her for new challenges before she came back to teach and later moved on to work at Alamance Community College. Seniors Halle Russell and Chloe Welch also shared reflections, while younger students performed a CGS chant. The event mixed reunion and recruitment, with alumni, current students and longtime staff all occupying the same stage.

That continuity matters in Alamance County, where school choices often sit beside broader debates over public education, enrollment and access. Clover Garden’s growth has been matched by demand. In February 2024, the school opened a new freestanding high school at 5806 Pagetown Road after outgrowing its main campus on Altamahaw Union Ridge Road and running into septic limitations there. The new building cost $16 million, covers 43,000 square feet and sits on 19 acres. At the time, Clover Garden reported 950 students in kindergarten through 12th grade, including 270 high school students, and said it still had waiting lists for new students.

The school’s 10-year renewal adds another layer to the anniversary. North Carolina Department of Public Instruction says Clover Garden is in the 2026 renewal cohort, with its current charter set to expire June 30, 2026. Charter renewals begin two years earlier and include a self-study, a site visit, interviews and review by the Charter Schools Review Board before a new term is approved.

The anniversary ended with a Cha Cha Slide and confetti, but the bigger measure of Clover Garden’s first 25 years is not the party. It is the fact that a Burlington charter school that began with 275 students now serves 950, has sent alumni into teaching and higher education, and has secured another decade to prove its place in Alamance County.