Charlotte Schools Closing Ahead Of Hurricane Florence

CHARLOTTE, NC — All Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools will be closed for students and staff Thursday and Friday for Hurricane Florence, the school district announced Wednesday afternoon.

The closures Sept. 13 - Sept 14 are to “protect the safety of students, staff, families and community members,” CMS said in a statement.

Here are details of the CMS weather closure:

• All CMS athletic practices, games and events are canceled for Thursday, Sept. 13; Friday, Sept. 14; and Saturday, Sept. 15. \
• Extracurricular activities and field trips scheduled for Sept. 13 or Sept. 14 are canceled.
• Before-school and after-school enrichment programs (ASEP) are canceled.
• Make-up days will be designated at a later time. These days are designated Code C for CMS employees.

Factoring into the decision, say school officials, is that some CMS schools will be used as emergency Red Cross shelters. Shelters have already opened at CMS high schools including East Mecklenburg, South Mecklenburg, North Mecklenburg, Olympic and Ardrey Kell.

“CMS believes that supporting our neighbors in need is the right thing to do for our state, community and people affected by Hurricane Florence,” the school district said in a statement. “With safety as a priority, the district considered security, maintenance, traffic and staffing needs at shelters as a part of the decision-making process. Very heavy traffic during evacuations is difficult to predict and could significantly impact and delay CMS transportation and other operations.”

The school district said it would continue to update student families and staff through Connect phone-call messages in English and Spanish, CMS website, CMS social media on Facebook and Twitter, emails and the CMS mobile app.

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