Back to School: First Day at CMS
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools will welcome more than 139,000 students back to classrooms beginning today for the 2026-27 school year.
Superintendent Crystal Hill and district leaders highlighted preparations involving academics, staffing, transportation, safety, facilities, school nutrition and family resources during a recent media briefing at J.T. Williams Secondary Montessori.
More than 98% of teacher positions have been filled, with 644 new educators joining the district. The district also hired 218 teachers who participated in the CMS Teaching Residency Program.
CMS will operate 750 buses, including 28 electric buses, with more than 71,000 students expected to ride each day. The district has 98 driver vacancies but said routes without assigned drivers will be covered by existing staff.
Building Services completed more than 10,000 work orders during the summer. Projects included HVAC replacements at six schools, seven new roofs, eight new floors, paving and LED lighting upgrades.
The district also is changing technology practices for elementary students, including limiting independent YouTube access for kindergarten through second grade.
Students at all schools must keep mobile devices turned off and stowed away during instruction. Schools can set their own rules for phones, watches and tablets during noninstructional time.
Breakfast will remain free for all CMS students. Lunch has increased by 10 cents and now costs $2.85 for students in kindergarten through eighth grade and $3.10 for high school students.
Families are encouraged to use Infinite Campus, ParentSquare and AlphaPortal for academic information, school communications and transportation updates.
