Children poured out of buses and families scurried through the front doors at Dilworth Elementary School just ahead of first bell on Monday. A voice came over the intercom to kick off announcements: “Good Morning Dragons, it is so amazing to see everybody this morning.”
And with that, the 2025-26 school year at Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools had begun.
Caliyah Colter was arriving for her first day of kindergarten – feeling both excited and nervous. She says she loves to learn about animals. Her favorite animal is a unicorn, and she’s sporting one on her tee-shirt for her first-day-of-school outfit.
Monday was the last first day for the elementary schoolers at this Dilworth building. Next year, they’ll move to a new building on Park Road to address overcrowding. Meredith Loveland, a parent to two Dilworth Dragons, said she’s excited for the updated facility.
“I love the idea that the teachers and administration were involved in the design. So I think that the layout’s going to be great, I think that the format’s going to be great, and it’s just going to help,” she said.
Her daughter Everly will be starting kindergarten this year after attending pre-K through Dilworth last year. But the Dilworth pre-K was actually held in another building – which means next year, Everly will have been to three different buildings in three different years. The new facility will provide stability.
“We should be good through fifth grade,” Loveland said, laughing. “And then that will be wonderful. Yeah, we’re pumped about that.”
A generally smooth roll out
Later in the day, CMS officials met with the media at Sedgefield Montessori School for a midday update. The choice was intentional – Sedgefield Montessori represents the first completed project from the record $2.5 billion 2023 bond approved by Mecklenburg County voters.
Principal Jennifer Moore quipped the renovation work finished on Friday, “just in time to receive students today.”
CMS officials reported a smooth start to the school year.
“Simply put it has been an absolute fantastic and smooth start to the 25-26 school year,” said Superintendent Crystal Hill.
But officials also acknowledged some hiccups. Chief Operations Officer Tim Ivey said that there were no major bus delays, but some minor ones in keeping with what the district typically sees on the first day of school.
He said it was the result of drivers learning their routes, families getting used to their bus stops, and the introduction of new traffic on the roadways.
“That does create some initial delays but nothing that we have not seen, nothing unusual,” Ivey said. “So as the week goes on, we typically see marked improvements.”
CMS also acknowledged it has a ways to go in registering families for the new Infinite Campus student information system. As of Monday afternoon, 53,000 families were enrolled in their portal accounts – around 37% of the district.
And CMS Deputy Superintendent Melissa Balknight said there are around 130 more students who have not completed their CMS registration compared to this time last year.
The state Department of Public Instruction switched all schools across the state to Infinite Campus, replacing the old PowerSchool system.
Arrests at Palisades High School
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools officials say two parents were arrested for bringing weapons onto campus at Palisades High School on the first day of school Monday.
The weapons were found in the building’s vestibule where all individuals are scanned prior to entry. Ivey said police were called immediately, adding that CMS will not tolerate weapons on campus.
“You can’t deter somebody’s choice, but what happens when they make that choice to walk on the campus, we’re responsible for that and we responded immediately and we took care of the situation,” Ivey said.
The incident comes after news outlets reported a shooting near Palisades high school last week.
CMS officials did not specify what type of weapons were found Monday. In the 2021-22 school year, CMS led the state with 29 firearm possession incidents reported. But in recent years, the district has worked to reduce that number, with only nine such incidents in the 23-24 school year.
Last year, CMS faced scrutiny from parents over its handling of communication in the wake of safety incidents. This year, the district has announced a new safety protocol, called the I Love U Guys protocol.
