NCAE leader asked Wake to close all schools on May 1 for teacher rally. Will it?
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- NCAE asked for May 1 workday so year-round school employees could attend the rally.
- Wake County did not agree to close all schools and expects to use subs for absences
- At least 9 North Carolina districts canceled classes on May 1 due to mass teacher requests
Updated April 30, 2026: The Wake County school system has canceled in-person classes for May 1, at all schools ahead of the mass teacher protest in Raleigh. See story for details.
The leader of Wake County’s largest teachers group asked the school board on Tuesday to close all schools on May 1 so that employees can participate in a mass rally in Raleigh.
Friday, May 1 was a previously scheduled teacher workday for Wake County’s traditional-calendar schools, but many other schools such as year-round schools are still scheduled to be open.
Christina Cole, president of the Wake County chapter of the North Carolina Association of Educators, told the school board they need as many school employees as possible to attend the May 1 rally to lobby state lawmakers for changes such as more school funding.
“May 1st is a traditional workday, but workers at year-round schools and classified staff deserve the opportunity to advocate for their profession and their students,” Cole said during Tuesday’s school board budget public hearing. “So show some real solidarity and make May 1st a workday so we can hit the streets without district admin, the calendar or the school board standing in the way. Join us on Jones Street on May 1st.”
Cole is a special education teacher in Wake County and will become the next president of the North Carolina Association of Educators later this year. She and other NCAE leaders have urged teachers across the state to request May 1 off from work to participate in the mass rally in downtown Raleigh.
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The school board did not directly respond to Cole’s request. In an interview after the board meeting, school board chair Tyler Swanson referred questions about closing schools on May 1 to district administrators.
The district has said it expects to have enough substitute teachers to fill in for educators who take off May 1 at year-round schools, modified-calendar schools and early colleges that are still holding classes.
Several Wake school board members, including Jennifer Job, said Tuesday they plan to attend the May 1 rally.
“I look forward to hearing the voices that will be raised as the entire state of North Carolina’s education community asks the legislature to put our kids over corporations,” Job said.
Some NC school districts closing May 1 due to rally
As of April 24, at least nine North Carolina school districts have canceled classes on May 1 because they said so many of their teachers and other employees requested May 1 off. This includes Wake County neighbors Durham and Chatham counties and Chapel Hill-Carrboro.
The closures include the state’s second-larges district (Charlotte-Mecklenburg), the state’s third-largest school district (Guilford County) and the fourth-largest district (Winston-Salem/Forsyth).
The CMS school board voted to make May 1 a teacher workday at an emergency board meeting on Friday.
Wake is North Carolina’s largest district. The majority of Wake’s 203 schools use the traditional calendar. They will not have classes on May 1 because of the teacher workday.
This story was originally published April 21, 2026 at 8:09 PM.
