Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools officially made its recommendation for the 2026-27 academic calendar this week. But some are still frustrated with how school calendars work under North Carolina law.
The district collected nearly 9,600 responses to a survey that included two calendar options and allowed respondents to share their thoughts. CMS says anecdotal feedback from the survey revealed several priorities: six teacher workdays at the start of the school year, a Tuesday start to the school year, teacher workdays each month and continued advocacy for changes to the state calendar law.
Superintendent Crystal Hill ultimately recommended an academic calendar that will start the school year on Tuesday, Aug. 25, and features at least one teacher work day or leave day per month with the exception of May. It also features six teacher workdays at the start of the school year. The school board will vote on the calendar in April after a public hearing scheduled for later this month.
CMS continues to call for changes to state law that would allow the district to start the school year earlier so that students take their end-of-semester exams before winter break. Per state law, the opening day should be no later than the Monday closest to Aug. 26, though there are exceptions for schools that receive state permission to operate under a modified calendar.
Many school districts ignore the law and start the school year earlier anyway. CMS has not done that, but continues to advocate for changing state law on its legislative agenda.
In the meantime, board member Summer Nunn said she hopes future surveys explore new calendar structures that could allow for an earlier start within the existing law, such as a year-round calendar, or other changes.
“I was speaking to a friend whose school district actually extended their day to hit that target, so they extended it by 15 or 30 minutes a day and they are now ending before the December break and then before Memorial Day as well,” Nunn said. “Just ideas for future calendars too, but I know we have to stay within the laws and instructional time.”
Board member Melissa Easley asked if it would be possible to arrange the calendar so that it complies with state law but still allows midterms to be completed before winter break. However, district Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer Beth Thompson said the district had already tried to look into that.
“It is virtually impossible given the date we have to start in August, and then the needs across any requirements, for example, Veterans Day has to be a holiday — that’s also part of state law,” Thompson said. “When you factor all of those things together as well as holidays, it is not possible to adhere to the state law and finish prior to the winter break.”
