Make-up days:

2-3 a.m.: CMS police notifies transportation that severe weather may affect travel.

3-4:30 a.m.: Transportation staff checks road conditions.

4:30 a.m.: Executive director of transportation recommends closing or starting late to the associate superintendent for auxiliary services and the chief operating officer. The superintendent makes the final decision and notifies the executive director of communications.

5 a.m.: Communications staff begins the notification process by posting an announcement and calling media outlets.

10:30 a.m.: If severe weather develops, CMS may decide to dismiss schools early. The superintendent, deputy superintendent or communications office will notify schools by e-mail, phone and/or fax. Schools should be sure phone lines, including principals' private lines, are open in severe weather.

Noon-1 p.m.: Early dismissal will be announced.

1:30 p.m.: A decision will be made on canceling evening events. The superintendent or deputy superintendent, or communications office will notify schools by e-mail, phone and/or fax. Schools should ensure that phone lines are open, including principals' private lines.

6 p.m.: The After-School Enrichment Program will remain open until 6 p.m. unless weather conditions become hazardous while students are in the after-school programs.

• Staff procedures
  • Only the superintendent can declare a Code C. During this code, only essential personnel appointed by the superintendent or designee will report to work.
  • If school is closed, bus drivers do not report to work.
  • Teacher Assistants do not work on Teacher Workdays.
  • Custodians are expected to report to work during severe weather. Custodians formally designated as essential personnel by the superintendent or designee will report on a code C day.
  • If school is closed, cafeteria staff does not report to work. Cafeteria staff may take annual discretionary leave or take the day without pay on those days.
• Athletics
  • If schools are closed, all athletic practices and scheduled events are canceled. The director must approve any exceptions (such as out-of-town tournament events) of athletics.
  • All athletic practices and scheduled athletic events are canceled if schools are dismissed early because of severe weather.
  • If schools are delayed because of severe weather, all athletic practices and athletic events will be held as scheduled unless directed otherwise.
• After School Enrichment Program
  • If schools are closed, the After-School Enrichment Program is canceled.
  • If schools are delayed, the before-school program will operate on a regular schedule.
  • If schools are dismissed early, the After School Enrichment Program is canceled.
  • If hazardous weather occurs during the ASEP hours, parents will be encouraged to pick up their children from the program as early as possible; the program, however, will remain open until 6:00 p.m.
• Early dismissal
  • If school is dismissed early, public notification will occur between noon and 1 p.m.
  • All buses will follow their regular afternoon route sequence unless otherwise notified. All students will be delivered to their regularly assigned afternoon bus stops, except ASEP students, whose parents will pick them up at their home schools.
  • All CMS after-school activities (extra-curricular, athletic and community use of schools) will be canceled in the event of early dismissal. All students needing transportation should ride their assigned afternoon bus. In addition, for each student, schools should have an emergency dismissal form where parents have indicated how their child is to go home. (The form is available on the intranet.)
• Two-hour delay
  • Start times are two hours later than normal time. Ending bell times do not change.
  • All employees except bus drivers report to work at their regular times.
  • Principals will develop a modified bell schedule that begins two hours later than normal and ends at the usual time and will also confer with the cafeteria manager on a modified lunch schedule that allows all students to eat.
• Make-up days
  • Because N.C. law requires each school to have a minimum of 180 days and 1,000 instructional hours, CMS must make up each day missed.
  • Holidays identified on the Board of Education-approved school calendar cannot be used as make-up days

Codes and make-up days

Make-up days for students and staff are included in the annual school calendar, which is approved by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education. The calendar also indicates whether a severe weather day will be an optional teacher workday or a required annual leave day for staff. In addition, when the public is notified of school closings or delays, the Communications staff will include an explanation of the codes.

CODE A: Optional teacher workday

On a Code A day, all 10-, 11- and 12-month employees will report to work, use annual leave, use personal leave or take the day without pay. Non-exempt employees with previously accrued compensatory time may use it or make up the time in the same week with supervisory approval.

Ten-month employees may also choose not to work on a Code A day and make up the time with the approval of a principal or other supervisor. Employees who select the make-up option will be charged a day without pay and will not be able to use annual leave or sick leave. Employees who did not work on a Code A day must sign a form indicating how the day will be charged (annual leave, the flex exchange described below or the make-up option). The office of the chief operating officer will provide specific information and forms when a Code A day occurs

The flex-exchange option allows 10-month licensed employees on the teacher pay schedule to exchange a flex certificate earned in a workshop for an optional teacher workday. The certificate must be submitted to the school payroll secretary, and the absence code is 34. A maximum of two flex certificates may be exchanged each year.

Eleven- and 12-month employees do not have a make-up option. Nine-month employees may take an annual leave day or a day without pay.

CODE B: Required annual leave day

On a Code B day, all 11- and 12-month employees will report to work, use annual leave or take the day without pay. Nine-month employees will use available annual leave or take the day without pay. Ten-month employees not subject to required annual leave days (i.e., secretaries) have the same options as  11- and 12-month employees. However, ten-month employees subject to required annual leave days (i.e., teachers and teacher assistants) must use annual leave for a Code B day. Employees who are required to take leave do not have a make-up option. However, non-exempt employees who do not have annual leave days may use previously accrued compensatory time or make up the time in the same week with supervisory approval.

CODE C:  Essential personnel only

Code C is used in extremely hazardous weather. Only personnel designated as essential will report to work, provided they can travel safely.

Note for staff with less than two years of experience - Teachers and teacher assistants employed the first day of the school year and work the entire year earn ten days of annual leave during that year. Ten days are designated mandatory annual-leave days on the academic calendar. To avoid a negative annual-leave balance and a pay deduction at year-end, these employees should report to work on all optional workdays. New 10-month employees who begin work after the first day of the school year should also work on all optional workdays; however, they may have a pay deduction at the end of the year if they do not earn enough leave to cover the calendared annual leave days they use.

Central offices are open on Code A and Code B days.

Twelve-month employees who cannot travel safely may use an annual leave day or take a day without pay. On a Code C day, essential staff, as defined by the superintendent or designee, will report to work (provided they can travel safely). If schools open two hours late, all employees report to work at their usual times. Senior managers (director level and above) are responsible for familiarizing employees with procedures for optional workdays and required annual leave days.

Teacher Assistants will not work on Teacher Workdays. Teacher Assistants may not use Annual Leave on Teacher Workdays.

Cafeteria staff will not work when schools are closed

Cafeteria staff may use annual leave or take the day without pay. Holiday kitchen-check procedures are in effect during school closings. If schools are closed for an extended time, managers should check kitchens as soon as it is safe to travel. If schools open on a two-hour delay, all employees report to work at their usual times.

Bus drivers will not work when schools are closed.

If schools open late, bus drivers will begin their morning routes two hours later than normal; afternoon bus routes will not change. If schools are dismissed early, all buses will start the routes early but follow the usual route sequence unless otherwise notified.

After-School Enrichment and before-school programs will not operate when schools are closed.

Before-school programs will operate on a regular schedule when schools open late. The after-school program will not operate if school is dismissed early. When early dismissal is required, After-School Enrichment staff will collaborate with principals to notify parents that children must be picked up at the home school rather than an ASEP location. Should weather conditions become severe while students are in ASEP, parents will be encouraged to pick up their children as soon as possible, but the programs will remain open until 6 p.m.

Custodial staff will report to work on Code A and Code B days.

Custodians designated essential personnel will report on Code C days, provided they can travel safely. Custodians are to begin removing ice and snow from sidewalks as soon as possible. They must also inspect parking lots, sidewalks, trees for broken limbs, mobile classrooms, power/water/boiler rooms, bathrooms and pipes, and check that there is hot water in the cafeteria. If unable to reach the school safely, the custodian must notify the principal.

Tornado Safety for Schools

According to FEMA, Tornadoes are nature’s most violent storms. Spawned from powerful thunderstorms, tornadoes can cause fatalities and devastate a neighborhood in seconds. A tornado appears as a rotating, funnel-shaped cloud that extends from a thunderstorm to the ground with whirling winds that can reach 300 miles per hour. Damage paths can be in excess of one mile wide and 50 miles long. Every state is at some risk from this hazard. Some tornadoes are clearly visible, while rain or nearby low-hanging clouds obscure others. Occasionally, tornadoes develop so rapidly that little, if any, advance warning is possible. Before a tornado hits, the wind may die down and the air may become very still. A cloud of debris can mark the location of a tornado even if a funnel is not visible. Tornadoes generally occur near the trailing edge of a thunderstorm. It is not uncommon to see clear, sunlit skies behind a tornado

Before a Tornado

• Listen to NOAA Weather Radio or to commercial radio or television newscasts for the latest information. In any emergency, always listen to the instructions given by local emergency management officials.

• Be alert to changing weather conditions. Look for approaching storms.

• Look for the following danger signs:

  • Dark, often greenish sky

  • Large hail

  • A large, dark, low-lying cloud (particularly if rotating)

  • Loud roar, similar to a freight train.

  • If you see approaching storms or any of the danger signs, be prepared to take shelter immediately.