A version of the following article appeared in the May 1, 2026, edition of The Charlotte Ledger.
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A growing number of parents say CMS leaves little time for hands-on learning in kindergarten; are 5-year-olds ready to spend the day at a desk?
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools stopped providing resources to kindergarten teachers for play-based learning centers around 2010, according to parents and teachers advocating for the district to bring it back. (Photo from Unsplash)
by Lindsey Banks
When Mollie Whalen Auerbach walked into a kindergarten classroom on a recent tour of her neighborhood’s elementary school, she thought she might’ve stepped into the wrong room.
A former kindergarten teacher and mother to a 4-year-old, she expected to see the classic signs of an early childhood classroom, complete with blocks, easels, play kitchens and sand and water tables. Instead, she saw no semblance of playtime.
“When do the kids get to do play-based centers?” Auerbach asked the teacher on the tour. “When do they get to do choice time?”
The answer: “Oh, unfortunately, we just don't have time for that anymore.”
It’s a concern many parents of rising kindergarteners share across Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. The district began phasing out structured play in kindergarten classrooms about 15 years ago, when schedule requirements changed and there just wasn’t enough time in the school day for it, according to parents and teachers who spoke to The Ledger.
So, two months ago, Auerbach started an online petition and campaign called “K Needs Play” to push CMS to reinstate at least an hour of structured, play-based learning in kindergarten classrooms.
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