Community School of Digital and Visual Arts, 311 Dowd St.: kindergarten to grade 8, 199 students in 2024-25 and a D (40) state grade.
Last checked Oct. 12, 2026. Sources: the school’s website, the N.C. Department of Public Instruction’s 2025-26 assessment data and report card data and the federal NCES school directory.
Community School of Digital and Visual Arts is a tuition-free public charter school for kindergarten to grade 8 at 311 Dowd St. in Durham. It is not run by Durham Public Schools: charter schools have their own boards and no attendance zones, and any North Carolina child can apply. The school’s website gives its address as 311 Dowd St.; older state and federal directories list its former Cornwallis Road address.
Who to call
- Front office: 919-797-2340, 311 Dowd St.
- School website: www.communitydva.org
- Applying: the school itself, not the district; see How admission works below
- Zoned district schools for an address: the DPS school locator
| Address | 311 Dowd St., Durham, NC 27701 |
| Phone | 919-797-2340 |
| Grades | K to 8 |
| Run by | Its own nonprofit board (public charter school) |
| Calendar | Traditional |
| State school code | 32C000 |
School leaders
Principal Cheryal Isaac, according to the school’s leadership page.
Enrollment and teachers
- State count: an average daily membership of 199 students in the 2024-25 school year, up from 178 in 2023-24, according to the state’s report card data.
- Federal count: 181 students in the 2023-24 school year, with 14 full-time-equivalent teachers, according to the NCES directory. That is about 13 students per teacher.
State report card
North Carolina gives every public school an A to F School Performance Grade, based 80% on achievement on state tests and other measures and 20% on academic growth, according to the state’s 2025-26 annual testing report.
| School year | Grade (score) | Growth |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | D (40) | Met |
| 2023-24 | D (50) | Exceeded |
The 2024-25 grade is the latest in the state’s downloadable report card data.
From the state’s 2025-26 school assessment data:
- At grade level or above, all state tests: 31% (state: 59.2%)
- College and career ready (Level 4 and above): 10.8% (state: 37.5%)
- Reading, grades 3 to 8, at grade level: 26.6% (state: 55.7%)
- Math, grades 3 to 8, at grade level: 33% (state: 59.6%)
- Growth: met expected growth
The full report card, with attendance, teacher and course data, is on the state’s NC School Report Cards site.
How admission works
The school takes applications through an enrollment form on its apply page.
Charter schools are free and open to any North Carolina child. North Carolina law requires a charter school to hold a lottery when more students apply than it has room for. Charter schools do not have to provide buses or meals the way the district does, so ask the school what it offers. Our Durham public schools guide lists the district schools for each part of the city.
Calendar and bell times
Charter schools set their own calendars. The school’s own website posts its calendar; the state lists Community School of Digital and Visual Arts’s calendar as traditional.
More
- The school’s own website
- Every public school in Durham, with zones and report cards
- Our Durham schools guide for district calendars, enrollment and the school board
Frequently asked questions
What grades does Community School of Digital and Visual Arts serve?
Community School of Digital and Visual Arts serves kindergarten to grade 8, according to the school.
What is Community School of Digital and Visual Arts’s school grade?
Community School of Digital and Visual Arts earned a D, with a score of 40, in North Carolina’s 2024-25 School Performance Grades. In 2025-26, 31% of its state tests were at grade level or above.
How do you get into Community School of Digital and Visual Arts?
It is a public charter school with no attendance zone. The school takes applications through an enrollment form on its apply page.
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