Back-to-School 2023-24

Welcome, CHCCS families! Please bookmark this page for important information and ongoing updates as school opens for grades K-12 on Monday, Aug. 28 and Pre-K on Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2023!

Enrollment/Registration: If your student will be new to CHCCS, visit our enrollment page for details on the registration process, school assignments and related information.

Calendar: Here’s the full 2023-24 school year calendar in Google, printable (PDF) and translated formats.

Start/end times for each level:

• Elementary School

• School starts at 7:50 a.m.
• School ends at 2:35 p.m.

• Middle School

• School starts at 8:25 a.m.
• School ends at 3:20 p.m.

• High School

• • • School starts at 8:55 a.m.
    • School ends at 4 p.m.

Important Dates: Times are set by each school, so please visit the school's website for details.

• Meet-the-Teacher Date for elementary and middle schools is Thursday, Aug. 24.
• Open House Dates 

• • High School, Wednesday, Sept. 13
  • Middle School, Tuesday, Sept. 19
  • Elementary School, Thursday, Sept. 28

Communication: View this page for more on how the CHCCS district communicates with employees, families and the Chapel Hill-Carrboro community. Additional communication can be routinely expected from your school, teacher(s), activity leaders, coaches and more!  

School Supply Lists: Click on the links to view information about school supplies.

Elementary School Supply Lists:

• Carrboro Elementary
• Ephesus Elementary
• Estes Hills Elementary
• Frank Porter Graham Bilingüe Elementary
• Glenwood Magnet Elementary
• McDougle Elementary
• Morris Grove Elementary
• Northside Elementary
• Rashkis Elementary
• Scroggs Elementary
• Seawell Elementary

Middle School Supply Lists:

• Culbreth Middle
• McDougle Middle
• Phillips Middle
  • Grade 6
  • Grade 7
  • Grade 8
• Phillips Middle
• Smith Middle

Public School Foundation Supply List: The supplies purchased from this Amazon Wish List help stock the teacher store and are distributed directly to students at back-to-school events within the community.

Immunizations: For Pre-K, Kindergarten, rising 7th Grade and rising 12th Grade students there are specific immunization requirements. An up-to-date immunization record indicating that students have received the required immunizations is due by the first day of attendance at school. If proof of the immunizations is not provided within 30 calendar days after school entry, students will not be allowed to attend school (in-person or virtually) until it is provided. 

• If your student is entering Pre-K or Kindergarten, or is a rising 7th grader or 12th grader, contact your primary care provider or the Orange County Health Department about immunizations required by the first day of school.

Health Assessments: Additionally, state law requires that every child (when entering public schools in N.C. for the first time) receive a health assessment. The assessment must occur within 12 months prior to entering school. The medical provider, parent or guardian must provide a completed health assessment transmittal form to the principal of the school on or before the child's first day of attendance. If the Health Assessment Transmittal Form is not provided within 30 calendar days after school entry, students will not be allowed to continue attending school (in-person or virtually) until it is provided.

• If your student is new to North Carolina public schools, please work with your healthcare provider to complete a Health Assessment Transmittal Form no later than within 30 days of entering school. Once complete, please submit these records to your school nurse. Click this link for school nurse contact information.

School meals (breakfast and lunch): Due to the expiration of a federal waiver in 2022-23, school breakfasts and lunches are no longer free for all students. While many families may still be eligible for free or reduced-price breakfasts and lunches (and if so, you must complete a new application), other families need to be aware of meal prices. Please visit this page for prices as well as the application for free or reduced-price meals.

Pre-Pay for Meals: You may pre-pay for school meals throughout the year using a service known as “K12PaymentCenter”. To sign up, visit our website and find the link for “Pre-Pay for Meals” to get started. (If using a mobile device, click that link and then expand the menu next to “Meals and Nutrition” in order to see “Pre-Pay for Meals”.)

• Note: Families who are checking their children's existing lunch balances through the payment center may find that there is a $0 balance. This is because the account has not been used since 2020. The account is temporarily inactive on the payment center's end, but not on CHCCS’s end. Therefore, you cannot see the balance or account history. Once your child makes their first purchase this school year or funds have been added to the account, the account will reactivate the balance and history. If you would like to know the balance before then, please contact the School Nutrition Office at 919-967-8211 ext. 28270.

Transportation: Visit our Transportation page for information regarding bus routes, assignment maps and FAQs. Learn about and download our “Here Comes the Bus” app, which keeps families informed on the location of a student’s bus and whether or not it’s on time.

Bus Transportation Requests: If you are NEW to CHCCS or recently CHANGED YOUR ADDRESS, you may need to request school bus transportation for 2023-24. You should contact your school’s data manager to make the bus transportation request.

• Use this page to find contact information for your school’s data manager.
• No action is necessary if your student used CHCCS transportation last year and did NOT change address.
• If you moved and still need to change the address on file with CHCCS, you would first do that with the CHCCS registration office at Lincoln Center (click for more details.)

Consolidated bus stops: Please be reminded that student bus stops may be changing in 2023-24 in order to provide safe, efficient and on-time transportation for all eligible students. Consolidated stops were among the Board-approved results of a community conversation that took place in 2022-23 to address the shortage of bus drivers. For a refresher, click over to this webpage.

PowerSchool: Sign up for your PowerSchool account today! PowerSchool parent/student portals give access to attendance, grades and assignments. A single parent portal account can be linked to multiple students.

District App: For families and community members who want to keep up with what’s going on in the district, this app is for you! It allows users to customize it with calendars for both the district and their student’s school. There are links to K-12 Payment Center, Board Policies, PowerSchool, social media and more. Download Android or Apple.

Student Support: Our School Support and Wellness Division maintains a website specifically for strengthening healthy relationships and building emotional safety within CHCCS schools. Click this link for more information on and resources for social and emotional learning (SEL). CHCCS CARES!

Parent Handbooks: Find our Parent Handbooks (in English and Spanish) online here. School specific information may be found on the same page under Parent Handbook-School Based Supplements.  Included in the supplements are, among other things, drop off and pick up information, how to report an absence, program contact information.  At the high school level, learn which students can leave campus, student parking, how to sign up for Driver's Education and more.