2-Week Winter Break Maintained In Approved Fairfax County Schools Calendar

FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA — School calendars for three school years were set by the Fairfax County School Board at its meeting last Thursday. The school year calendars maintain the first day two weeks before Labor Day and a two-week winter break.

This was the first time the School Board approved three years of calendars at once for Fairfax County Public Schools. The selected calendar was an amended blue calendar option presented by Superintendent Michelle Reid after public feedback on four draft calendar options.

"This calendar takes the needs of our students, staff, and families into consideration," said Reid in a statement. "Approving the calendar for the next three years allows our community to plan ahead. It also keeps our focus on high-quality teaching and learning, and continued access to academic opportunities and supports for all students."

Priorities identified from community feedback were maintaining a two-week winter break and a spring break aligned with neighboring school districts. The calendars meet the 180 instructional days required under Virginia law, and there are 15 professional workdays that are days off for students.

Holidays include a Labor Day break, the Jewish holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, the Indian holiday of Diwali, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving break, winter break, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Presidents Day, spring break, the Muslim holidays of Eid al-Fitr and Eid-al-Adha and Memorial Day. Juneteenth is a holiday for staff after the school year ends.

Observances that are not holidays on the calendar are Bodhi Day, Three Kings Day/Epiphany, Orthodox Christmas, the first day of Ramadan and Theravada New Year. Indigenous Peoples' Day and Election Day are professional work days, and Orthodox Good Friday is a professional work day except when it falls on a holiday observance.

In the current school year, the first day of school was Monday, Aug. 22, and the last day will be Friday, June 16. The first day of school for the 2023-2024 calendar is Monday, Aug. 21, and the last day is Wednesday, June 12.

For the 2024-2025 calendar, the first day is Monday, Aug. 19, and the last day is Wednesday, June 11. For 2025-2026, the first day is Monday, Aug. 18, and the last day is Wednesday, June 17.

Over 78,000 people provided input on the school calendar process in a survey before four draft calendar options were presented. Over 37,000 provided input on those four draft options.

"While no calendar will ever accommodate everyone, we have tried to come as close as possible," said School Board Chair Rachna Sizemore Heizer in a statement. "We listened to the community both at the input and feedback stages of the process and have worked hard to reflect community voice."

The School Board also directed the superintendent to develop a draft calendar policy for future calendar discussions.