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INSIDE ▼ Goodwill opening music & media store
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PAGE 3B Friday, Aug. 21, 2026 • Vol. 26 • No. 33
thecharlotteweekly.com
@southcltweekly
CMS staff ready for first day of school CHARLOTTE – CharlotteMecklenburg Schools shared key back-to-school updates Aug. 18 as the district prepares to welcome more than 139,000 students for the first day of school on Aug. 25. Superintendent Crystal Hill and members of the CMS leadership team outlined preparations across academics, staffing, transportation, safety, facilities, school nutrition and family resources. “Throughout the summer, teams across Charlotte-
M e c k l e n b u rg Schools have been hard at work preparing for a successful opening of school,” Hill Hill said. “Our campuses have undergone repairs, renovations and routine maintenance. Classrooms have been readied, systems have been tested, buses have been prepared and staff members across the district have worked diligently to ensure our
schools are safe, welcoming and ready for learning on day one.” Among the updates shared: • Staffing: CMS has more than 98% of teacher positions filled for the upcoming school year. The district is welcoming 644 new educators, and 218 teacher residents participating in the CMS Teaching Residency Program have been hired into teaching positions. • Transportation: CMS will operate 750 school buses, including 28 electric buses, with more than 71,000 students
expected to ride district transportation each day. While CMS has 98 driver vacancies, all routes without an assigned driver will be covered using existing staff, and the district does not anticipate disruptions due to those vacancies. • School safety: CMS continues its layered approach to school safety, including school resource officers at K-8, middle and high schools, security scanners at those campuses and patrols of elementary schools by law enforcement. CMS has
Y'all come back Visitor spending hits $6.5 billion, 4A
ABOVE: Charlotte FC defender Henry Kessler delivers a comfort package to a patient. BELOW: Tyger Smalls, Henry Kessler, Rodolfo Aloko and Sir Minty stand outside Atrium Health Levine Cancer Institute. Photos courtesy of Atrium Health
Bojangles cooks compete for glory, 1B
Spreading cheer
MLS players, mascot visit cancer hospital
Under the stars Neighborhood hosts outdoor movies, 2B
Rebranding Academy offers youth programs, 3B
see CMS, Page 3A
Nonprofits introducing Ultimate to schools
WHAT'S INSIDE:
Better biscuits
also upgraded to the Raptor Visitor Management system and will continue using the “I Love U Guys” Standard Response Protocol. • Facilities: Building Services completed more than 10,000 work orders over the summer. Capital maintenance projects included new HVAC units at six schools, seven new roofs, eight new floors, paving projects and LED lighting replacements at several sites. This school year
CHARLOTTE – Charlotte FC players Tyger Smalls, Henry Kessler and Rodolfo Aloko joined mascot Sir Minty and team sponsor Rugs.com on July 28 to bring cheer to patients at the Atrium Health Levine Cancer Institute infusion center. The soccer players gave patients comfort packages with blankets from Rugs.com. Rugs.com warehouse supervisor and cancer survivor Darwin Cortez was also there during the visit. Cortez, 30, was first diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia at age 3 in Honduras. Later, he received treatment at Atrium Health Levine Children’s Hospital as a teenager and Cortez underwent a bone marrow transplant more than 10 years ago. Charlotte FC is celebrating Cortez as an honorary captain before its Aug. 22 match against D.C. United.
Matthews Alive Parade set for Sept. 5 MATTHEWS – The Matthews Alive Festival, presented by Novant Health Matthews Medical Center, returns Labor Day weekend with family activities, concerts, a carnival and the annual Matthews Alive Parade. The parade will begin at 9:30 a.m. Sept. 5 and will follow the same route introduced last year. Parade participants will stage on Matthews-Mint Hill Road. From there, the parade will travel along MatthewsMint Hill Road, turn left onto Trade
Street, turn right onto John Street and continue to Covenant Church Lane for disembarking. Organizers said the route provides additional viewing space for spectators while allowing greater flexibility within the festival footprint. Ending the parade on Covenant Church Lane provides an unloading area on a closed street. The deadline for parade entries has been extended until Aug. 21. Visit matthewsalive.org for more information about the festival.
Carolina Checkers mascot Chubby greets and high-fives fans at the Matthews Alive Parade. CMG file photo
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CHARLOTTE – Two nonprofits are launching a new curriculum to help equip teachers with the resources, training and confidence to introduce Ultimate to students. Ultimate combines the running of soccer with frisbee-throwing skills. “This year, Charlotte Ultimate has been focused on youth programming and connecting with the next generation of ultimate frisbee players,” said Will Heisner, executive director of Charlotte Ultimate. “We’re excited to partner with Ultimate Education Inc. in the launch of their new curriculum and introduce ultimate frisbee to hundreds of students and teachers within Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools this fall.” Charlotte Ultimate and Ultimate Education held training days this month for CMS physical education teachers. Future sessions will be held Oct. 2 and Nov. 2. Andrew Romberger, a health and PE resource teacher, said the partnership will “help provide purposeful physical education, character-building and physical activity programs that empower students to practice lifetime wellness.” “Charlotte Ultimate’s vision of building a vibrant community centered around competition and fun in the sport of Ultimate, directly aligns to our CMS (Health and PE) department vision of building students who are socially, emotionally, mentally and physically healthy.” After completing the training, teachers will receive a kit with frisbees, a curriculum guide and digital access to Ultimate Education’s full online curriculum library. Charlotte Ultimate will also host two camps for middle and high school students who want to learn more about the sport. DISC-overy Day will take place from 8 a.m. to noon Sept. 21 at the Mecklenburg County Sportsplex in Matthews. Each camper will receive a free disc. Visit charlotteultimate.com/cms-program for registration information. Charlotte Ultimate offers a pay-what-you-can model. Its new Youth Development Program is powered by OrthoCarolina. “By working alongside CharlotteMecklenburg Schools and other valued partners, we’re helping introduce more students to the game while supporting their health, development and long-term success both on and off the field,” said Emma Gagnon, marketing program manager at OrthoCarolina. On the web: charlotteultimate.com