TL;DR: NCSEAA's 2026-27 Direct Payment table lists 133 schools in Wake, Durham, Orange and Johnston, and those are the only Triangle schools that can receive Opportunity Scholarship or ESA+ tuition money this year. About 76% of the students counted in the federal private school survey for the four counties attend a listed school, but several of the region's largest independent schools are not on the list.
How many Triangle schools can take the Opportunity Scholarship in 2026-27?
133 listings in the four counties can be paid with state scholarship money this year: 81 in Wake, 37 in Durham, 9 in Orange and 6 in Johnston. We counted them from the NCSEAA table we downloaded on October 30, 2026, which had 822 rows statewide.
A listing is not quite the same as a school. Thales Academy alone accounts for 9 Triangle listings, one per campus, and Heritage Leadership Academy has 6 sites. Some listings are new microschools that have not yet filed the federal private school survey, so 53 of the schools in our Triangle school directory are known only from the state table, with a name and town but no grades or enrollment.
How does each county compare?
Wake has by far the most listed schools, but Durham has the highest share of its federal-survey schools on the list. The table matches each county's federal-survey schools to the state table by name, and the last column names the largest federal-survey school that did not match.
| County | Direct Payment listings | Schools in federal survey | Federal-survey schools on the list | Students at listed schools | Largest school not on the list |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wake | 81 | 78 | 49 | 17,307 of 21,678 | Ravenscroft School |
| Durham | 37 | 31 | 23 | 3,324 of 5,311 | Durham Academy |
| Orange | 9 | 5 | 4 | 739 of 1,216 | Carolina Friends School |
| Johnston | 6 | 6 | 4 | 929 of 956 | Kids R Kids |
Enrollment figures come from the 2023-24 federal survey (2021-22 for a few schools), so treat them as a size guide rather than a current headcount.
Which well-known Raleigh and Durham schools were not on the 2026-27 list?
Ravenscroft, Cary Christian School and Cary Academy in Wake, Durham Academy and Duke School in Durham, and Carolina Friends School on the Orange-Durham line did not match any 2026-27 listing. Together they enroll several thousand students, which is why the share of Triangle private-school students at listed schools is closer to three in four than to nine in ten.
That does not make those schools out of reach. Their own need-based aid does the work the state award does elsewhere, and ESA+ families can still use the account for therapy, tutoring and devices while paying tuition another way. Our list of Triangle schools not on the 2026-27 list has every unmatched school sorted by size.
Why are so many Triangle listings small or new schools?
Because the list now reaches far past the established campuses. Of the 53 Triangle schools that appear only on the state table, several are microschool sites, several more are Islamic schools in Raleigh, Cary and Durham, and others are small Christian academies in towns such as Wendell, Knightdale and Rougemont. None of them has a federal survey row yet, which usually means they opened recently or did not answer the last survey.
For a family, a small listed school can be the most affordable option in the region, because tuition at some of these programs sits close to a Tier 1 or Tier 2 award. It also means doing more homework. Without federal data you cannot see grade span, enrollment or teacher count on our pages, so ask the school directly for those numbers, for its testing results summary, and for how long it has operated. A visit tells you more than a listing ever will.
The flip side is that the list rewards schools that do the paperwork. A school that registers with NCSEAA, accepts the testing rules and stays current appears on the table no matter how small it is.
What a Direct Payment listing is not
A listing is not a quality rating and not an accreditation. The state table records no accreditation at all, and it says nothing about whether a school has open seats. What a listing does tell you is that the school agreed to NCSEAA's rules for scholarship students: tests from grade 3 up, the ACT for juniors, test results sent to NCSEAA every July, and the possibility of a state audit.
A listing also does not change what a family receives. A Tier 2 household gets up to $7,148 for 2026-27 at a small Durham academy and at Cardinal Gibbons alike; only the school's tuition can lower the award, never raise it.
How should a Triangle family use this map?
Start with the flag. If your shortlist mixes listed and unlisted schools, compare them on the amount you would owe after the award and after each school's own aid, not on sticker price. Then check timing: a new student has to be enrolled and attending by October 1 for fall money, and the 2027-28 application window is expected to open in early February 2027. The tier calculator gives you the award to plug in.
Frequently asked questions
How many Triangle schools can take the Opportunity Scholarship in 2026-27?
133 listings across Wake, Durham, Orange and Johnston, based on NCSEAA's 2026-27 Direct Payment table as downloaded on October 30, 2026.
How does each county compare?
Wake has 81 listings, Durham 37, Orange 9 and Johnston 6; Durham has the highest share of its federal-survey schools on the list.
Which well-known Raleigh and Durham schools were not on the 2026-27 list?
Ravenscroft, Cary Christian, Cary Academy, Durham Academy, Duke School and Carolina Friends did not match a 2026-27 listing.
How should a Triangle family use this map?
Check each school's flag, compare schools on what you would owe after the award and school aid, and plan around the October 1 enrollment cutoff and the early-February application window.
Related questions
- How much can a Raleigh-area student get from the Opportunity Scholarship?
- Which Triangle schools were not on the 2026-27 list?
- Which parts of the Triangle have the most private schools?
- How should I ask a Triangle school about aid?
Sources
- NCSEAA, K12 Programs: Direct Payment Schools (2026-2027)
- NCSEAA, Opportunity Scholarship Income Guidelines 2026-2027
- NCES Private School Survey
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