Rockingham County Schools leaders presented two draft academic calendars for 2026–27 and outlined tradeoffs for testing schedules, staff development time and family impacts at the Jan. 13 board meeting.

Superintendent’s staff described Option 1 as "unbalanced" — an 80/88 fall/spring split that would allow high‑school exams before the holiday break but reduce fall workdays and instructional sequencing for elementary staff. Option 2 keeps a traditional 84/84 split with exams after the Christmas break and more staff workdays for professional development. Staff said both calendars comply with state calendar rules (start the Monday closest to Aug. 26; end the Friday closest to June 11) and announced a two‑week public comment window with a staff webinar planned for Jan. 21. Board members asked about alignment with area colleges, graduation timing and grade‑level breakdowns in survey returns; staff agreed to add grade level fields to the public survey and return survey results to the Feb. 6 work session.

In the superintendent’s report high‑level items included: expansion of student health clinics through a UNC Health partnership (extending services currently at high schools to at least three middle schools), a pilot teletherapy program at Moss Street for school‑based mental health, and the Stepping Stones program expansion to include Head Start students for K–8 mental‑health services. Dr. Stover noted use of settlement funds to support vaping‑prevention programming and forthcoming ribbon‑cutting dates for a renovated Holmes clinic.

The board also heard that CTE (career and technical education) certification/pass rates rose to roughly 82 percent for the semester — a high‑water mark for the district. Staff said they would provide a follow‑up breakdown on how many students take CTE and how credentials map to student counts.

The board left the record open for further feedback through the planned survey; a Feb. 9 meeting was identified for a possible final reading if the board chooses to proceed.