Original Research by School Decision on School of the Arts for Boys Acad (saba)
School of the Arts for Boys Academy (SABA) is a boys-only school in Chapel Hill that has undergone fundamental transformation in recent years. The school opened as a tuition-free public charter in Pittsboro in August 2023, but the state charter review board revoked its charter after just over one semester due to low enrollment, and the school became a tuition-charging private institution in January 2024.
The school relocated from its original Pittsboro site to Chapel Hill, where it now operates from a church facility. The move changed the geographic access for families across Chatham, Orange, and Durham counties. Because the North Carolina Opportunity Scholarship Program expanded in 2024, families who qualify—a substantial majority of the school's enrollment—can attend tuition-free through state education vouchers that often meet or exceed the base tuition cost. Families without scholarship eligibility pay out of pocket.
SABA expanded from serving grades 3-6 at its launch to offering kindergarten through eighth grade beginning in the 2024-25 school year, broadening the enrollment window for families with younger children and providing a pathway through middle school.
State testing data were not available, and no enrollment figures, demographic information, or academic performance results are on record. Because the school is newly private and small, publicly reported outcome measures do not appear to be compiled or published. A parent considering this school would want to contact SABA directly to understand curriculum, pedagogy, the arts focus that gives the school its name, admission practices, and any available internal assessments or parent feedback.
Pittsboro itself is a small county seat and self-described artsy town with a compact, walkable downtown centered on the historic courthouse, independent shops, galleries, and a farmers market. The town is experiencing substantial growth through Chatham Park, a large planned community adjacent to downtown that is adding residential neighborhoods, mixed-use districts, schools, parks, and greenways. Major employers include local government, education, healthcare, and advanced manufacturing, with major industrial projects planned in the county. The area is rural and car-dependent outside the downtown core, with a commute of roughly thirty to forty minutes to Raleigh and the broader Triangle. Housing values in the Pittsboro zip code have appreciated steadily, and median rents are moderate. The presence of Central Carolina Community College and Central Carolina Health Care signal both educational infrastructure and employer demand in the region.
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