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

Lisa O’Donnell

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.

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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.”

PHOTOS: Kimberley Park Elementary teachers prepare their classrooms on the first WS/FCS workday

Thousands of WS/FCS teachers are back in the classroom, two weeks earlier than usual (1)

Thousands of WS/FCS teachers are back in the classroom, two weeks earlier than usual (2)

Thousands of WS/FCS teachers are back in the classroom, two weeks earlier than usual (3)

Thousands of WS/FCS teachers are back in the classroom, two weeks earlier than usual (4)

Thousands of WS/FCS teachers are back in the classroom, two weeks earlier than usual (5)

Thousands of WS/FCS teachers are back in the classroom, two weeks earlier than usual (6)

Thousands of WS/FCS teachers are back in the classroom, two weeks earlier than usual (7)

Thousands of WS/FCS teachers are back in the classroom, two weeks earlier than usual (8)

Thousands of WS/FCS teachers are back in the classroom, two weeks earlier than usual (9)

Thousands of WS/FCS teachers are back in the classroom, two weeks earlier than usual (10)

Thousands of WS/FCS teachers are back in the classroom, two weeks earlier than usual (11)

Thousands of WS/FCS teachers are back in the classroom, two weeks earlier than usual (12)

Thousands of WS/FCS teachers are back in the classroom, two weeks earlier than usual (13)

Thousands of WS/FCS teachers are back in the classroom, two weeks earlier than usual (14)

lodonnell@wsjournal.com

336-727-7420

@lisaodonnellWSJ

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

FAQs

What percentage of teachers report using digital learning in their classroom several times a week? ›

About two-thirds of teachers (65%) say they use digital learning tools to teach every day; 22% use them a few days a week, and 13% use them once or less per week. More than half of teachers (53%) report that their students use digital learning tools every day to learn.

What percentage of new teachers leave the classroom within the first five years? ›

Nearly 50 percent of new teachers leave the profession within their first five years. In 1987-'88, the most common level of experience among the nation's 3 million K-12 public school teachers was 14 years in the classroom.

Why do some classrooms have 2 teachers? ›

Can having more than one teacher in the classroom help students learn better? That's the idea behind co-teaching, which is also known as collaborative team teaching. Co-teaching is one way schools make sure that students who need special education services are being taught in the least restrictive environment (LRE).

How might teachers make classrooms less competitive? ›

Intentional Teacher Counter-Message: When students get too focused on the competitive element of the task, remind them that their learning and treatment of one another is what is important. Remind them that this competition does not affect their grade or anything else that is important.

What percent of teachers prefer online learning? ›

About 70 percent of faculty taught a remote class during the pandemic, and the preference for remote teaching has grown, according to the report. Of those surveyed, 20 percent said they prefer to teach hybrid courses that mix in-person and online instruction, while 18 percent prefer teaching fully online courses.

How much has online learning increased? ›

Since its launch in 2000, the worldwide market for online learning has grown by more than 900%. It is the fastest-growing market in the education industry.

What is a class with two teachers called? ›

Co-teaching involves two or more certified professionals who contract to share instructional responsibility for a single group of students primarily in a single classroom or workspace for specific content or objectives with mutual ownership, pooled resources and joint accountability. (

Can two teachers be married? ›

As long as one teacher is not involved in supervising the other, two teachers can date even if they are in the same school. I am married to another teacher who's in the same school district but teaches at a different school. And, we almost ended up at the same school, but he was hired into his dream position.

What is the second teacher in a classroom called? ›

One Teach, One Assist. One teacher acts as the primary teacher while the other assists and supports. the learners. The co-teacher assists by monitoring student work, addressing.

What makes a teacher ineffective in the classroom? ›

An ineffec- tive teacher makes it difficult for students to learn or decreases their desire to learn by a lack of enthusiasm for the subject, by a hostile or inappropriate behavior toward the students, by a failure to maintain discipline in the class, or by unfairly pre- ferring some students to others.

Why are smaller classes better for teachers? ›

One of the many benefits of small college class sizes is you are more likely to have a more individualized experience. Smaller class sizes help your instructors manage each student, instead of just teaching to the masses. In one survey, 90% of teachers agreed smaller class sizes increased student learning.

How often do teachers use technology in the classroom? ›

Roughly 63% of K–12 teachers use technology in their classrooms every day, up from 55% in 2016. Today, 58% of teachers are using educational apps, 41% are using social media, and 21% are running high-tech, 3D printers.

What percentage of schools use technology in the classroom? ›

Educational Technology Adoption

74% of K-12 teachers use technology in their classrooms on a daily basis. 32% of teachers use game-based learning in the classroom to enhance student engagement. 63% of school districts say they offer at least one online or blended course.

How many people use Google classroom daily? ›

How many people use Google Classroom? As of 2021, the application has an estimated 150 million users, and this could have grown considerably in 2022 given today's trends.

How many schools use digital learning? ›

What percentage of elementary and secondary schools offer distance education? Response: During the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring of 2020, seventy-seven percent of public schools reported moving classes to online distance-learning formats. Distance learning could include self-paced or real-time learning.

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