5 things Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools parents should know before students return

School begins Monday for most of the more than 141,000 students in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. This year, the district launches a new student data system, school safety protocol and, for the first time, online registration.

Meanwhile, the district still has some vacancies for teaching roles and bus drivers ahead of the start of the year. But those numbers are constantly in flux, CMS Chief Human Resources Officer Kecia Coln said at the district’s Back-to-School Briefing Tuesday morning.

Here’s what parents need to know before dropping their kids off Aug. 25:

Infinite Campus

Infinite Campus is the new student information system for every public school system in North Carolina, replacing PowerSchool. It houses information like grades, attendance data and student schedules.

“Don’t delay, parents: we want to be sure that you have your parent portal app downloaded so you can log into Infinite Campus and review your child’s teachers and schedule for this year,” CMS Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer Beth Thompson said Tuesday.

Once parents download the Infinite Campus portal app, they’ll need to create their own account to access information.

Infinite Campus is not the same thing as Parent Square, the platform CMS uses to send communications out to parents. The district encourages parents to have both the Parent Square and Infinite Campus parent portal apps downloaded on their phones.

Registration

CMS is now offering entirely online student registration ahead of the first day of school, so families can complete that process from anywhere with an internet connection. In-person kiosks are also available at individual schools for those who prefer that option.

For first-time students, parents will need a few documents on hand: Proof of where you live, proof of your student’s age, immunization records, school records and legal custody documents. To register online, parents must take and upload pictures of the required documentation.

Also for the first time, all required forms can be submitted online this year ahead of the start of school.

Safety protocols

This year, CMS is adopting the “I Love U Guys” districtwide safety protocol in order to streamline responses to crises that may arise on campus.

“I Love U Guys” is a 5-component protocol used across the country and named for the last words a student wrote to her family before losing her life in a tragic incident at school, said CMS Chief Operations Officer Tim Ivey.

The North Carolina Center for Safer Schools has encouraged local districts to adopt the framework.

“The foundation’s objective was to be able to provide clearer communication for students in the event of an emergency,” Ivey said.

The protocol outlines five levels of school crisis — hold, secure, lockdown, evacuate and shelter — and specific steps for staff to take in the event of each. There are also visuals posted throughout schools to let visitors know how to respond in any of these conditions.

Previously, Ivey said, students, parents and teachers were sometimes unsure of what was happening based on whether the event was a “lockdown” or “secure lockdown.”

“This will allow us to be able to better communicate exactly the events that are happening,” he said.

All students at K-8, middle and high schools will continue to enter walk-through scanners when they arrive at school each day, and school resource officers will continue to be on-site at those schools.

CMS also named Jonathan Thomas as its new chief of police. Thomas is a former major with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.

Vacancies

The district currently has 228 classroom vacancies heading into the 2025-26 school year, slightly fewer than the 293 vacancies the district had this time last August.

Those 228 vacancies account for about 2.4% of total teaching roles in the district. In total, 738 new teachers will join CMS this year, Coln said.

The greatest need continues to be for elementary and Exceptional Children teachers. There are currently 45 vacancies in kindergarten through sixth grade teaching roles and 38 vacancies for Exceptional Children roles.

There are also 97 bus driver vacancies as of Tuesday, but Ivey said the vacancies will not impact transportation on the first day of school.

Building updates

The district completed the last of its 2017 bond projects this summer after building a new playground at Bruns Avenue Elementary.

As part of its 2023 bond projects, the district converted Sedgefield Elementary into a pre-K through sixth grade Montessori campus, where students will begin attending Monday. Also beginning this year, First Ward Creative Arts will serve as the district’s arts-focused middle school, while Northwest School of the Arts will now only house grades 9-12.

Davidson K-8 will reopen as an elementary school this year, with sixth through eighth grades moving to Bailey Middle School.

Students from Dorothy J. Vaughan Academy of Technology will move to Parkside Elementary as an elementary STEM magnet school.

Construction projects are currently underway at Northwest School of the Arts, Billingsville Elementary, Cotswold Elementary, Marie G. Davis School, First Ward Creative Arts, South Mecklenburg High School and the district’s new middle school campus in south Charlotte, which is intended to relieve overcrowding at Community House Middle School, Jay M. Robinson Middle School and Rea Farms STEAM K-8.

This story was originally published August 20, 2025 at 5:00 AM.