CMS To Close Charlotte Area Schools For Teachers’ Rally

CHARLOTTE, NC — All schools in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools system will be closed Wednesday, May 1 as an optional teacher workday, the school district announced. The news comes as more than 2,000 CMS teachers and school staff planned to take the day off to participate in a teacher rally in Raleigh that same day.

CMS Superintendent Clayton Wilcox said attendance requirements for all students are waived May 1 and that no make-up day is needed or will be scheduled.

The May 1 rally follows last year’s protest in Raleigh — considered the largest teacher political action in the state’s history — where thousands of teachers filled the streets surrounding the state capital to demand higher salaries and more educational funding.

“The powerful voices of educators change student lives every day in classrooms across our community,” Wilcox said. “Together, their collective voice will change communities across our state on May 1 as they advocate for investments in public education that matter most to our students and their futures.”

Factoring into the decision was the lack of substitute teachers to cover classrooms, Wilcox said.

“The current count of teacher and staff absences is nearing 2,000 total,” Wilcox said. “We expect the number of our educators participating in the May 1 rally to increase as the day draws closer.”

CMS employees- CMS employees will be provided detailed guidance from CMS HR.

Field trips - Parents, families and students should check on the status of field trips scheduled for May 1 with their designated school and field trip leaders. Decisions on field trip cancellations or for plans to remain in place will be based on availability of staff for supervision and safety.

Testing - all classroom tests will be re-scheduled. No AP or IB tests are scheduled for May 1.

Athletics -High school athletic events will take place as scheduled on May 1, including:

• Baseball - conference tournaments
• Softball - conference tournaments
• Women’s soccer - full slate of regular season matches
• Track & field - conference tournaments
• Men’s tennis - first round of NCHSAA play-offs
• Lacrosse - first round of NCHSAA play-offs

Middle school athletic events are cancelled for May 1 and will be rescheduled to Monday, May 13, including baseball and boys and girls soccer.