COROLLA, N.C. — Staff and students at Water Edge Village School, known locally as WEVS, welcomed guests from fellow public charter schools across North Carolina on Tuesday for a look at how the Corolla campus has grown from a tiny schoolhouse into a financially stable community school.
The school story goes back more than a decade near the Currituck Beach Lighthouse. WEVS was founded to give Corolla families another local schooling option. Because Corolla is part of Currituck County, many families previously faced long mainland drives for education. In 2025, a brand-new, nearly 4,000-square-foot building opened. Founders Meghan Agresto and Sylvia Wolff hosted the visiting educators.
Tom Miller, CEO of Leaders Building Leaders, said WEVS has been financially stable for over 10 years after starting with only 16 students, even though many experts say a school needs 220 or more students to be viable. He said the visit helps other charter leaders take small-school strategies back to their own communities. Miller also presented a $500 donation toward a future whale articulation project.
Wolff said community support from families and businesses is the only way the school could be as successful as it is, calling it a true community school. Local planning material describes Corolla as the northernmost accessible community on the paved Outer Banks road, anchored by the 1875 Currituck Beach Lighthouse and famous for its wild horse population. The same notes list Currituck Beach Lighthouse among Corolla landmarks and place the village in Currituck County on the Northern Outer Banks.
Educators left with examples of how a small coastal charter can stay solvent, partner with local businesses and nonprofits, and still serve as a model for peers statewide.
