Thousands of WS/FCS teachers are back in the classroom, two weeks earlier than usual (2024)

The hallways and classrooms at Kimberley Park Elementary School are typically quiet in early August.

But on Thursday, teachers there and across the school district returned to their schools to unpack books, arrange desks and decorate bulletin boards for their first work day of the 2024-25 school year, about two weeks earlier than usual.

Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools is one of about 29 districts in the state that will begin the school year earlier than North Carolina law allows. For at least 20 years, the school district started the school year no earlier than the Monday before Aug. 26, adhering to a state law that was established to accommodate the tourism industry.

In January, the school board voted 6-3 to ignore the law and take control of its calendar, a move that many teachers endorsed because it means that first semester exams can be given before the two-week Christmas break.

The new calendar also aligns with the calendar of Forsyth Technical Community College, allowing for more dual enrollment among students.

The school district has not faced any sort of punishment for ignoring the mandate.

This year, local students will return to school on Aug. 12.

Allison Eskridge, a third-grade teacher in her third year at Kimberley Park, was among 4,000 local teachers who were back at work. She said she has mixed feelings about the early return.

“I like staying in the groove of things,” she said. “But it’s hard to come back and not have that little extra time for yourself.”

Jalyn Neely stood amid the empty desks and boxes in her room, wearing a T-shirt that read: “Hello Second Grade.”

“I’m excited to get here and work on my room. I’m trying to get my things together and set up my bulletin board,” said Neely, a second-grade teacher.

Neely said she planned to spend the day making name tags for the desks in her classroom and catching up with co-workers.

While each school in the district handles the first day of school differently, Diamond Gwyn, the principal at Kimberley Park, said she prefers giving teachers time to organize their classrooms on their first day back rather than having them sit through meetings and PowerPoint presentations.

“It’s a relaxed environment (today),” Gwyn said. “Teachers can get started in their classrooms and see what they need and it gives me time to see what they need. Then, we’ll get to the nitty gritty.”

Wanda McLemore, a 16-year teaching veteran, said one advantage to the shorter summer is that it cuts down on learning loss.

“I’m a proponent of year-round school. I hate the student loss of learning. I’m glad we’re coming back early so that we can close the gap on learning retention,” she said.

McLemore, who teaches fourth- and fifth-grade English, spent her day sorting through her classroom set of books and tacking reading strategies onto a bulletin board.

The school board made the decision to change the calendar after many students and staff members had already made plans for August.

The school district has said it will show leniency to students and staff who can’t make the start of school because of pre-existing plans.

Students who filled out forms earlier in the year explaining that they might miss the start of the school year will be given excused absences.

Superintendent Tricia McManus said that the school district has plans to help students who may miss class.

“We’ll make sure they get what they need when they arrive,” she said. “That’s always my biggest concern, student impact.”

Staff members were asked to talk with school leaders about any conflicts.

Heading into the shortened summer, the school district made detailed plans to make sure that facilities were cleaned, grounds were maintained and school bus stops were in place ahead of the early start, McManus said.

The school district also had to hustle to fill vacancies across all departments. That mean earlier career fairs and faster processing, she said. Currently, there are about 100 teacher vacancies, she said.

“When the decision was made to start early, we created goals and metrics for each week, and we kept following them,” she said. “This challenging problem made us better in the long run. I think sometimes you find unexpected benefits, and I think this was one of them, creating solid plans.”