Woo hoo – CMS students get a 4-day weekend back

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools students got their four-day Memorial Day weekend back, as Superintendent Ann Clark rescinded an earlier decision to use one day as a makeup for winter weather closings.

Snow and ice closed schools for three days in January, creating some controversy over whether Clark waited too long for the last patches to thaw. With the possibility of more winter weather ahead, she declared that students would make up time on April 25 and May 27, both of which were scheduled as teacher work days.

This week, with spring in full swing, she decided that May 27 will be a teacher work day after all, which gives students a four-day weekend with the Memorial Day holiday. That’s allowable because the CMS calendar includes more class time than the state requires.

Students still have to report to class April 25, though.

And because nothing is ever simple, here are some school-specific makeup decisions:

▪ Students at Briarwood Elementary and Eastway Middle, which were closed for a power outage in February, no longer have to report for a makeup day June 10.

▪ Students at Metro School, which was closed in February after students experienced symptoms of the norovirus, will have a June 10 makeup day. Metro serves students with severe disabilities, and Clark kept the extra day “to ensure they receive the necessary services.”

▪ Charlotte Engineering Early College High School, which is on an alternate calendar because it’s on the UNC Charlotte campus, will not have to make up days.

This story was originally published April 19, 2016 at 2:11 PM with the headline "Woo hoo – CMS students get a 4-day weekend back."