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Tag: school calendar

  • Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools releases calendar options. One has earlier start date

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    Students arrive for the first day of school at Elizabeth Traditional School in Charlotte, N.C., on Monday, August 25, 2025.

    Students arrive for the first day of school at Elizabeth Traditional School in Charlotte, N.C., on Monday, August 25, 2025.


    KHADEJEH NIKOUYEH

    Knikouyeh@charlotteobserver.com

    Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is considering two calendar options for the 2027-28 school year and is asking for community input before the board picks one on April 14.

    In one option, the first day of school would fall on Thursday, Aug. 26, 2027, and the last day on Friday, June 9, 2028. In the other, the start and end of school would be shifted two days earlier, with the first day on Tuesday, Aug. 24, 2027 and the last day on Wednesday, June 7, 2028.

    The main differences between the calendar options lie in when teacher workdays and spring break fall. In option one, spring break would run from April 10 through April 14, ending the weekend of Easter. In option two, spring break would be the following week, from April 17 through April 21.

    Both options include the same number of instructional hours, two weeks off for winter break and a teacher workday on Election Day, Nov. 2, 2027.

    In a change from previous years, the district will not have four early release days as it has in the past, instead it will opt for two additional full teacher workdays.

    The district’s hands are somewhat tied when it comes to school start and end dates. The North Carolina General Assembly passed a now-controversial law in 2004 that requires NC public school districts to start school no earlier than the Monday closest to Aug. 26 and end no later than the Friday closest to June 11.

    This rigid timeframe has drawn criticism from some, including board members, as it means students must take end-of-course exams after they return from winter break, when they’ve spent two weeks away from class material.

    CMS Vice Chair Dee Rankin suggested at Tuesday’s board meeting that the board and community “put pressure on our General Assembly to do the right thing and allow calendar flexibility,” in order to change the law so school can start earlier in August.

    State law also says districts are required to have a minimum of 185 instructional days or 1,025 instructional hours. CMS aims to schedule at least 1,063, so there’s wiggle room in case days need to be canceled due to inclement weather, for example.

    A poll is open to the public to share feedback on the two options until Feb. 13. CMS Superintendent Crystal Hill will give her recommendation to the board March 10, and the board will vote April 14.

    Related Stories from Charlotte Observer

    Rebecca Noel

    The Charlotte Observer

    Rebecca Noel reports on education for The Charlotte Observer. She’s a native of Houston, Texas, and graduated from Rice University. She later received a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri. When she’s not reporting, she enjoys reading, running and frequenting coffee shops around Charlotte.

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    Rebecca Noel

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  • Durham Public School Board meets with educators as pay dispute continues

    Durham Public School Board meets with educators as pay dispute continues

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    DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) — Hours of discussion led to very little progress at the board of education meeting in Durham.

    The meeting comes amid the ongoing pay dispute among Durham Public Schools staff. Several people walked out of Thursday night’s meeting with the new interim superintendent and the board as they tried to figure out the next steps.

    After several callouts, protests, and demands for fair pay, district leaders now believe they are headed in a better direction.

    They say they are hoping a deal could be reached by as early as next week.

    On Wednesday new interim Superintendent Catty Moore spoke with the media for the first time and said this is definitely a temporary role but is ready to get DPS back on track.

    She says the larger pay issue isn’t something other districts haven’t seen and hopes they can reach a longer-term solution so the district doesn’t hit a breaking point again.

    There are also a lot of questions about the $300,000 payout to former Superintendent Mubenga and the almost equivalent $25,000 a month she is making and how this will impact the budget and outcome.

    “And so I think the dollars are there, that’s a discussion with the board, and you know we arrived at something that was doable and commensurate with what the previous superintendent was doing, and so I think that would be expected.,” Moore said.

    DPS Board Chair Bettina Umstead was hoping for a breakthrough insisting they’re moving as quickly as possible.

    “It’s about our students, it’s about our families, it’s about the whole Durham community counting on all of us and all of us have to come together to make that real, so I’m just asking for that two-way street,” she said.

    Much of the meeting Thursday devolved into who would be on the other end of that two-way street, with the Durham Association of Educators (DAE) leading the charge.

    Another group of transportation staff, who led the callouts that led to school closures, walked out of the meeting saying DAE doesn’t represent them.

    “There’s a lot of issues that are going on in our department and as a whole as well, but we felt like we were unheard and we were disrespected we didn’t have a seat at the table and we were promised a seat at the table,” said Assistant Area Manager, Transportation Kitora Mason.

    After watching staff members walk out, and the DAE’s refusal to disclose how many members they actually have, the board voted to create a compromise. A new work group will be named starting at next week’s board meeting, made up of two board members, two administrators, and eight DPS staff members that will be split. Four will be selected by the DAE and 4 others.

    Union leaders told ABC11 that despite the walkouts, they’re hoping this new group can move things forward.

    “We have and will continue to reach out to every sector of DPS cafeteria workers, classroom teachers, transportation, counselors, the whole gamut,” said Durham Association of Educators President Symone Kiddoo.

    The next meeting is scheduled for Feb. 22 where the board will decide who will serve on the new working group that will meet every week.

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