CMS may add play-based kindergarten next year – if parents can raise the money

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is willing to roll out play-based learning in some kindergarten classrooms next school year – but only if parents can raise thousands of dollars before July 1.

CMS parents started a big push for play-based curriculum earlier this spring, calling for an hour of play in kindergarten classes, modeled after a successful program Cabarrus County Schools began rolling out three years ago. The program would create areas for kids to choose what they want to engage with: blocks, art, performance, reading and writing, for example. It would allow students to have time each day to explore topics in the ways they want to.

Parents called the movement “K Needs Play” and started a petition calling for CMS to pilot play-based learning in a select number of kindergarten classes next school year. Wednesday morning, the petition had over 2,000 signatures.

CMS Deputy Superintendent Melissa Balknight was enthusiastic about the idea, too, CMS parent and former educator Mollie Auerbach told The Charlotte Observer. The problem was money. Now, parents are trying to raise the cash.

“Dr. Balknight very quickly said to us, ‘We’re on board; we want to do this; we think that this is what students need,’” Auerbach said of her May meeting with Balknight and CMS board member Cynthia Stone. “(Balknight) recalled when her own son was in kindergarten, how he had challenges sitting on the rug, and she was supportive as soon as we got onto the call. So, we were so excited.”

A CMS spokesperson confirmed to The Observer that the district is exploring the possibility of launching the program in a select number of classrooms next fall. But, they said, “the work remains in the planning and exploration phase.”

Launching the plan means the district spending money on training for teachers and materials like play kitchens, bookshelves, blocks and easels.

To roll out the pilot in the fall in the around eight schools that have expressed interest, it could cost over $200,000, Auerbach said. Though she and others are working on trimming the wish list CMS compiled in order to bring the estimated cost down.

That’s on top of extra training for teachers this summer, which could total around $16,000. It’s funding CMS did not plan in its budget that the school board passed May 12.

So, while CMS is interested in the program, Auerbach said, parents would have to fundraise to make it happen – and fast.

“The reality is that this is expensive, and we told CMS from the beginning that we would help with funding,” she said.

In order to get teachers trained this summer and get materials delivered on-time for school to start again in the fall, CMS told parents they want the money by July 1, Auerbach said.

“There are so many more schools interested than we had anticipated, which is great,” Auerbach said. “But, we’re in a little bit of a challenge right now, because we have so little time and so much money to raise.”

How’s fundraising going?

Parents in support of the program started a GoFundMe on Monday, and by Wednesday afternoon, it had raised $9,345. It’s also accepting pledges on its website from parents who are interested in investing if the program comes to fruition. They can pledge money for a particular school or for the program in general.

K Needs Play organizers are also talking to the CMS Foundation, the district’s official nonprofit fundraising partner, to see if donors could give to the school district directly.

The district took applications from interested schools to be part of the fall trial. Though it doesn’t make anything official, Auerbach said the schools that have applied are:

• Eastover Elementary
• Hawk Ridge Elementary
• Blythe Elementary
• Elizabeth Traditional Elementary
• Oakhurst STEAM Academy
• Lansdowne Elementary
• Villa Heights Elementary
• Beverly Woods Elementary

CMS is currently gauging the interest of teachers at each school.

Of the schools that applied, four have a high proportion of students living at or below the poverty line. Auerbach said she doesn’t want that to prevent those students from having access, so she’s hoping to get enough donations from parents at high-income schools to be able to roll the program out at all schools interested.

CMS leaders said they may be interested in taking the program district-wide in fall 2027, and Auerbach said she believes play-based learning in kindergarten is a major selling point for families to come to CMS, which saw a drop in enrollment this school year.

“I honestly think this is changing people’s choices about whether or not they’re going to enroll in CMS,” she said. “We’ve spoken to people with two and three year-olds who are saying, ‘If I know my school is going to have an hour of play-based learning every day with no screens in kindergarten, I’m much more confident about starting their K-12 career at CMS.’”