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 5 North Carolina districts canceled classes on May 1 due to mass teacher requests
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 chairTyler Swanson referred questions about closing schools on May 1 to district administrtors.
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
At least five North Carolina school districts have canceled classes on May 1 because they said so many of their teachers requested May 1 off. This includes Wake County neighbors Durham and Chatham counties and Chapel Hill-Carrboro.
The state’s two largest school districts — Wake County and Charlotte-Mecklenburg — have not announced plans to close all their schools on May 1.. It’s a regular school day in CMS and at Wake’s non-traditional schools.
The majority of Wake’s 203 schools use the traditoinal calendar. They will not have classes on May 1 because of the teacher workday.
Guilford County, which is the state’s third largest school district, has announced that it will make May 1 an optional teacher workday. School leaders at Winston-Salem/Forsyth, which is the state’s fourth-largest district, held a special meeting Tuesday to discuss whether to cancel classes on May 1.
This story was originally published April 21, 2026 at 8:09 PM.
