Chapel Hill-Carrboro schools to give students Thanksgiving week off for mental health

The Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools will give students the entire week of Thanksgiving off to support students and staff members’ mental health and wellness, the district announced.

The new days off — an optional teacher work day and two new “wellness” days — are among several new initiatives the school board approved last week.

In a presentation Thursday night, Superintendent Nyah Hamlett cited feedback from employees, students and families as reasons for the initiatives, which also include two years of retention bonuses for most district staff.

A handful of speakers addressed the board at the start of the meeting.

Madison “Madi” Lin, the Chapel Hill High student body president, said there is a “mental health crisis” at the high school level. There are five lunch periods at her school, making it hard for students to meet with teachers or clubs. Requests for student events continue to be denied, she said, despite COVID-19 protocols that have let such events return in other districts.

Lin, a senior, also asked for mental health days, which the board would go on to approve later in the meeting.

“I cannot express how much our students and staff are struggling; we need help,” Lin said. “Our mental health is declining at an unsustainable rate.”

“There is nothing normal about this school year, and we cannot continue at the pace as if it was,” she said. “We need actions that give students hope.”

Retention bonuses for school workers

Following similar action in other districts, the school board unanimously supported retention bonuses to be paid with federal COVID-19 relief and local funding.

● Every current worker employed as of Oct. 31, 2021, who has not already received a recruitment bonus on or after July 1, 2021, will receive a $1,000 retention bonus (to be paid in the Nov. 30 paycheck).

● Every current worker who continues their employment through Oct. 31, 2022, will receive a second bonus of at least $500.

Chief financial officer Jonathan Scott said the administration looked at how much nearby districts were paying in bonuses this year, including Orange County Schools ($1,200), Chatham County Schools ($1,250) and Durham Public Schools (about $1,000).

Board members briefly considered offering a higher bonus this year but decided to spread bonuses over two years to help retain teachers and staff for even longer. Several board members said they would like to consider a higher bonus next year if possible.

Each $100 of bonus for the district’s roughly 2,000 employees costs $215,000, Scott said.

Board member Rani Dasi said, to her, the bonus is both to retain staff but also thank them for the work they have done during the COVID-19 pandemic.

School calendar changes

The board approved the following changes, according to the news release:

● Monday, Nov. 22, is now an optional teacher workday (no students in school.)

● Tuesday, Nov. 23, and Wednesday, Nov. 24, are wellness days leading into Thanksgiving (no students or employees in schools.)

● Monday, Feb. 14, 2022, will be a wellness day, and a required teacher workday will now move to Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022.

The district also will now let employees work from home or at an alternative work location under certain conditions.

In a message sent to school employees and students’ families Friday, Hamlett acknowledged the Thanksgiving-week calendar changes might be abrupt for some who will have to rearrange schedules.

“At the same time, I do believe that these developments demonstrate how deeply we are listening to our students, employees, and our families,” she wrote. “We will continue to do everything we can to be the most supportive school district that takes good care of our people while striving to maintain high quality, equitable learning environments that foster a positive school culture.”

Some other Triangle school district are also adding days off.

The Wake County school system has canceled classes on Nov. 12, extending the Nov. 11 Veterans Day holiday break by a day, The News & Observer previously reported.

On Monday, The Chatham County Schools announced it also will give students Nov. 12 off to help them and district employees take care of themselves and prepare for the rest of the semester.

“Chatham County Schools is a family,” Superintendent Anthony Jackson said. “Families look out for one another, and that is what we need to do for our staff and students.”

Other changes

The Chapel Hill-Carrboro administration is making these changes that did not need board approval, according to the news release:

For CHCCS employees only:

● Nov. 1, which was already a “teacher workday” will now be a “telework day” for employees who want to do so.

● Nov. 2 remains an optional teacher workday, which can also be a “telework day” for those who want to do so.

For CHCCS students:

● Nov. 1 and Nov. 2 remain days when there is no school for students.

For CHCCS high school seniors:

● Starting Monday, Nov. 29, high school seniors will be allowed to leave campus for lunch. They’ll be encouraged to follow school masking requirements while off campus.

● Schools will also plan to provide opportunities to increase socialization and connectivity for all students during their lunch periods.

CHCCS will also:

● Create “Mindful Mondays” and “Wellness Wednesdays” starting in January with planned wellness activities to reduce students’ stress and anxiety.

● Develop a plan for school-sponsored outdoor events that follow COVID protocols. School-sponsored indoor events that support the arts and other extracurricular activities will also be reassessed to resume in the second quarter.

● Develop a plan to let fully vaccinated visitors and volunteers back into schools to support school programming and/or learning.

This story was originally published October 25, 2021 at 9:36 AM.