The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Board of Education voted Wednesday night to turn two planned early release days — Feb. 11 and April 29 — into full days, in order to make up some instructional time lost to two recent winter storms.
Inclement weather has impacted CMS operations for eight consecutive days, with three canceled days, three remote days and two delayed openings following consecutive weekends of rare winter weather.
CMS officials said Wednesday that the 2025-26 academic calendar has enough wiggle room for the district to meet the state-required minimum of 1,025 instructional hours this year — even with the disruptions. But CMS officials say they still wanted to make up for lost time.
“We do not need to make a change to this year’s academic calendar in order to comply with state law or board of education policy,” said Superintendent Crystal Hill. “However, we do want to provide every opportunity for students to be back in school and learning in person.”
CMS Chief Innovation and Strategy Officer Beth Thompson said that without using the Feb. 11 day, students would have been back in school for only four full days before a half day. That would be followed by a preplanned teacher workday with no instruction just days later, on Feb. 16.
“We do not feel like that gives us our students continuity in instruction,” Thompson said. "We don’t think we’re doing the right thing by kids to do that.”
Thompson said the district also considered turning Feb. 16 into a full day – that day is listed on the calendar already as a makeup day. But because Feb. 16 coincides with a holiday in Presidents' Day, CMS officials felt that that would be a bigger disruption than simply extending the Feb. 11 half day.
CMS has already been weighing doing away with early release days in future calendars — feedback has suggested that those days are unpopular with parents and staff alike.
The district calendar plans for 1,063 hours. Board policy allows Hill to waive four instructional days in the event of inclement weather without using a designated make-up day – she’s waived three so far. Additionally, state law allows CMS to use five remote work days that don’t count against instructional hours.
CMS is returning to a normal, in-person schedule Thursday.
