GREENSBORO, N.C. — Summer is coming to an end and it's almost time for students to head back to class.
Winston-Salem/Forsyth County school students head back to class on Monday, Aug. 12. Guilford County schools will start on Aug. 26th.
The Winston-Salem/Forsyth County school date is much earlier than normal. The school board voted to start classes two weeks early.
This calendar change does not comply with state law which requires districts to start no earlier than the Monday closest to Aug. 26.
The district announced it will not count absences for students who miss school at the start of the year. However, parents are expected to work with the district and let someone know their plan.
Many schools are struggling with chronic absenteeism.
Winston-Salem/Forsyth County schools said in the 2021- 2022 school year nearly 24% of students were chronically absent. Another 15% were severely chronically absent meaning the student had less than an 80% attendance rate.
Guilford County Schools also appears to have issues with chronic absences. According to the North Carolina Department of Instruction, over 31% of students were chronically absent at Guilford County schools in the 2022-23 school year.
For the past couple of years, schools across the country have struggled to keep their classrooms fully staffed. The Annenberg Institute at Brown University found there were an estimated 55,000 vacant full-time teaching positions in the U.S. Over 3,600 were from North Carolina.
Winston-Salem/Forsyth County schools say they have 99 classroom vacancies and 60 bus driver openings. Guilford County Schools is looking to fill multiple positions as well. They're hosting a hiring event on Aug. 13 at Hairston Middle School from 9 a.m. through noon to get additional help.