A version of this story first appeared in WFAE Education Reporter James Farrell's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get newsletters from WFAE straight to your inbox.
This week, we’ll say goodbye to the 2025-26 school year at Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.
It’s a bit of a milestone for me, personally – it’ll mark the end of my first full school year on the education beat here at WFAE (though that’s a bit of a technicality – I started barely a month into the 2024-25 school year).
Last August, with the first day of school looming, I wrote about the storylines I was planning to cover. With the school year wrapping up, I wanted to revisit those storylines and recap how the issues played out – along with some of the other big stories that shaped this school year.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement – ‘Operation Charlotte’s Web’
Immigration was heavy on the minds of many CMS families, staff and students this school year.
Last summer was marked by passionate community debate over how CMS should prepare for the potential of immigration enforcement at or near schools. That debate played out nationwide after the Trump administration changed federal guidance to allow immigration enforcement on school grounds, which have historically been seen as protected spaces. Tensions were already high after a parent was detained near the Charlotte East Language Academy last May.
All of that presaged the controversial arrival of Border Patrol agents last fall for “Operation Charlotte’s Web.”
Videos of masked agents making arrests sparked debate over immigration policy, protests, fears in immigrant communities and largely unanswered questions about who was detained, why they were detained and where they were taken.
Federal officials have said that the operation led to more than 425 arrests, including dozens of detainees who they said had serious criminal convictions, but information about the operation remains scant.
Border Patrol agents never set foot inside a Charlotte school – but the operation’s impact was felt in CMS hallways nonetheless.
CMS saw significant spikes in absences during Border Patrol’s time in Charlotte, with teachers reporting nearly empty classrooms. Students held walkouts and protests that drew national media attention. Families mobilized to deliver food and offer transportation to members of their school community. Parent Teacher Organizations stood guard outside of schools, wearing vests and whistles.
The events showed how schools can become centers of community support. But also showed how communities view schools as sacred places – and how even the threat of a disruption can trigger shockwaves.
Student assignment? How about a magnet overhaul
Last school year, CMS embarked on its comprehensive review, a process the district is supposed to undertake every four years to assess its boundaries, enrollment and programming. The last comprehensive review hadn’t occurred since 2017, so this was long overdue.
But the process was sprawling and convoluted at times, as is to be expected anytime school boards tackle big changes to things like student assignment.
The CMS board made a flurry of student assignment changes in the fall of 2024 and then did a deeper review of reams of enrollment, demographic and magnet program data, with a plan for additional changes to be considered in the spring of 2025. Instead, the conversation faded from public discourse – until this year.
We now know CMS is planning a major overhaul of its magnet program with additional student assignment conversations likely to take place this fall.
Here’s the crux of it: CMS wants to trim its number of magnet themes from 16 to six, eliminate duplicative offerings at some schools and focus on quality over quantity. The goal is to shift to a “program choice” model instead of a “school choice” model. By trying to offer a few flagship programs with fidelity across the district. The hope is that families will apply for magnet themes – not simply enter the lottery in hopes of going to a specific school.
It’s complicated. There are a lot of proposed changes. Changes beget feedback. And feedback begets more changes.
CMS has been holding community engagement sessions that have generally garnered positive feedback for the overall philosophical goals, but there have been requests for tweaks and pushback on specific parts of the plan.
And the plan has hit some roadblocks as of late. CMS Board members wanted to see more community engagement, which CMS has since done. Superintendent Crystal Hill suggested delays could push implementation back a year, but we’ll have to see how that shakes out.
You can review the latest proposal in its entirety here -- but be warned, the agenda for tomorrow’s school board meeting includes an item to review a revised plan that could bring changes.
Literacy and post-pandemic learning: Historic gains and the path ahead
When I wrote about the storylines to watch last year, the state was just weeks away from releasing its testing data for the 2024-25 school year.
That would prove to spell good news for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.
By all accounts, CMS started this school year celebrating “historic” academic gains. It saw more schools than ever before score a ranking of an A, B, or C – and removed more schools from the “low-performing list” in a single year than ever before. CMS saw solid gains in math and reading scores overall.
There were some blemishes as well – third-grade reading and Math I scores dropped, which was consistent with statewide trends. Graduation rates also dipped and lag behind the rest of the state.
In terms of literacy, the statewide dip in third grade reading has prompted conversation about how to see continued gains from the state’s investment in the science of reading, with many discussing the need for more focus on listening comprehension in early grades – something I touched on in this 2025 piece.
But we’ve also continued to monitor CMS progress on its four board goals, which focus on boosting K-2 reading scores, grades 3-8 reading scores, Math I scores and the percentage of students graduating on track to be enrolled, enlisted, or employed.
That last one – the so-called “three Es” – is CMS’ most promising goal. Data suggest that CMS is not only on track to hit its annual target this year, but might even come close to hitting its five-year goal.
Math I scores look a little dicier. Check out this piece I did back in March. We’ll get another update on this at tomorrow’s school board meeting.
The literacy goals are moving in the right direction, though you’ll often hear CMS officials note that they are not improving at the rate needed to hit its annual targets. Still, improvement is always better than stagnation.
Students have taken their end-of-year state exams, so we’ll be patiently waiting for this year’s test results, which usually come out in September, to see if CMS can see repeat successes.
There are some variables that might impact scores. Border Patrol’s arrival in the fall prompted tens of thousands of absences across multiple days. Uncharacteristically severe winter weather led to roughly two cumulative weeks of interrupted instruction this year – including cancellations, delays and shifts to remote learning. And, if you followed the news last week, you know many CMS students’ tests were interrupted by technical glitches.
Will any of that impact student performance this year? We’ll find out in September.
School safety and communication
Last school year, school safety and communication was a big focus for the community after a string of controversies and unexpected principal departures drew scrutiny from parents.
Those issues played out a little differently this year.
School safety was a big topic of discussion during Border Patrol’s time in Charlotte. That was on display at an emotional school board meeting in November. Many members of the community wanted the district to shift to remote learning – or at least offer more resources to families and teachers. Students planned walkouts and protests, but at times were frustrated by restrictions placed by school administrators.
Safety and communication also came up after this year’s back-to-back winter storms. The streak of cancellations, delays and shifts to remote learning earlier this year led to a lot of moving pieces, schedule changes and – for families – adaptation. On some days, social media debate swirled around whether the weather conditions warranted school cancellations.
CMS has said it has to take a countywide approach in deciding whether to cancel school. That’s because many students and teachers attend schools far away from where they live. So adverse conditions in one part of the county can impact the larger school system.
There were some controversies around communication this year. Following the death of Charlie Kirk, the message “Live Like Kirk” and a Bible verse appeared on the Ardrey Kell spirit rock. CMS initially framed the incident as an act of vandalism, but later walked that back amid reports that the student who painted the message said she had permission to do so. The student went on to file a lawsuit.
Tomorrow, the CMS board will vote on a new student free speech policy, which the Charlotte Observer reports was motivated by controversies such as the spirit rock and the Border Patrol protests.
Board Elections – New board, new dynamics
November’s school board elections brought massive change to the CMS board.
A couple incumbent upsets paired with two who declined reelection bids led to four new faces on the school board — Charlitta Hatch, Shamaiye Haynes, Anna London and Cynthia Stone.
It came after an at times tense election cycle, with questions about contracts, deference to the superintendent and conflicts of interest sparking debate.
The new board has proven to be far more willing to question Superintendent Hill and her staff than in the past. That was on display during the latest budget cycle, when the board voted down Hill’s budget, appearing to catch her off-guard.
Tensions about a lack of answers to questions about teacher allotments, mental health services, and a controversial program called Capturing Kids' Hearts appeared to bubble into public view and escalated as school officials wrangled over the budget in the days that followed.
A streak of special, closed-session board meetings on unspecified “personnel matters” raised some eyebrows, with rumors that Hill’s job might be in jeopardy. But weeks later, a budget was passed and Hill is still here — in fact, she’s specified: she “has no intentions of resigning.”
BONUS – School funding in the spotlight
I didn’t include this issue in my school year preview, but this was perhaps the most defining topics for school districts around the state: the perennial issue of teacher pay and school funding.
The North Carolina Supreme Court overturned its own decision in the long-running Leandro case, ending a more-than-30-year-saga about school funding, and giving advocates no clear path forward on their quest to compel the state to fund a “sound, basic education.”
The state budget stalemate ate into teachers’ pay. Frustrations boiled over into calls for teacher walkouts and protests. It culminated in a massive march, where thousands of North Carolina teachers boarded buses to Raleigh to call for change, resulting in several school districts, including CMS, canceling classes.
There’s a proposal for an average 8% raise in Raleigh right now that could end the budget stalemate – but some in education are unimpressed.
Meanwhile, the lack of a state budget continued to put pressure on school districts across the state, who saw tenser-than-usual budget cycles. At CMS, that contributed to the budget drama between the board and Hill.— Other school districts saw, and continue to see, similar tensions.
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