Wake school leaders consider calendar changes at 8 schools because of lower enrollment

Wake County school leaders are considering moving up to eight year-round schools to either a traditional or a different year-round calendar in the coming years.

The schools would be just the latest to change their calendars because of an enrollment level that no longer supports a multi-track year-round calendar designed to increase the schools' capacities.

Multi-track year-round calendars have been a popular tool in the school system since 2007, largely to expand schools' capacities. They work by dividing a school's student population into four groups and then rotating three groups in and one group out in shifts over 12 months.

Multi-track year-round calendars cost more to operate, so shifting them to just traditional or single-track year-round can save the district a few hundred thousand dollars per school.

Single-track year-round calendars are similar to traditional calendar schools in that students all attend at once, but they differ in that students attend over an extended period of time, tracking in for nine weeks and then taking three weeks off. Those are a schedule preference that don't expand a school's capacity.

The eight schools up for possible calendar changes could move to traditional August-to-June calendars or to single-track year-round calendars, if families preferred keeping the year-round schedule design.

The school board's facilities committee was scheduled to hear the proposal during its 3 p.m. meeting on Tuesday, but a power outage canceled the meeting. It's unclear when it will be rescheduled. A second draft of calendar changes is expected on May 5, and the board is expected to vote on any changes during its May 19 regular board meeting.

The schools up for a change for the 2027-28 school year include Holly Grove Elementary and Holly Grove Middle, which would move to traditional or single-track year-round calendars, and Pleasant Grove, Holly Springs and Rex Road elementary schools, which would move to single-track year-round.

For the 2028-29 school year, the schools up for a change are Heritage Middle, Heritage Elementary and Sycamore Creek Elementary.

The district is considering a traditional calendar rather than a single-track year-round calendar for Heritage Middle. For Heritage Elementary, the district is considering either a single-track year-round calendar or expanding its base area to take students from other nearby and more crowded schools. Sycamore Creek Elementary would move to single-track year-round.

The district will give options to some families who attend those multi-track year-round schools solely for that calendar style, to be eligible to stay at those schools even if they drop the multi-track year-round calendars.

Calendar changes in the past have drawn opposition from some families. Ahead of the proposals on Tuesday, the district asked community members for feedback on any possible calendar changes, including what matters most to them when it comes to the type of calendar their child's school is on. Many families want their children to be on the same calendars, even if they attend different schools. Many also want a consistent calendar throughout their children's education, and don't want to worry about having another calendar change soon.

During a public hearing last week on the school board's budgeting process, which took place at Holly Grove Middle, a handful of Holly Grove Middle parents and school employees spoke in favor of keeping a year-round calendar. They favored the three three-week breaks students get during the school year, among other things.

Shane Zimmerman, the school's athletic director, said he felt multi-track year-round was best for athletics, and single-track year-round would be worst for athletics, because students wouldn't attend games during the weeks they aren't tracked into school. Staff would also have to work during their track-out, he said.

"What sets interscholastic athletics apart from club sports is the ability for student athletes to play in front of their peers and not just in front of their parents," Zimmerman wrote in a message to school board members.

The shift away from the multi-track year-round calendars that alleviated overcrowding comes as the school district's enrollment has been stagnant for the past decade. It isn't expected to grow too much over the upcoming decade, either, related in parts to declining birth rates, declining immigration and increasing competition from public charter, home and private schools.

Underenrolled schools are largely in the county's eastern side, where the multi-track year-round calendars have been eliminated in recent years. This year, the district is proposing changing the calendars in some western schools that aren't at capacity, such as the Holly Grove schools and Pleasant Grove Elementary.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated how many schools were up for possible calendar changes. The district is proposing changes at eight schools.