Herndon 2017-18 School Schedule Released ... And There's One Huge Change

HERNDON, VA — The Fairfax County School Board has approved the 2017-18 calendar, and there will be one significant change for students in Herndon and the rest of the county: they'll be starting in August, before Labor Day.

Thanks to lots of snow in the past five years, FCPS qualified for a waiver from the Virginia Department of Education to begin the school year prior to Labor Day, and FCPS has decided to do just that.

"This waiver is granted if a division misses an average of eight days per year during any five of the last 10 years due to weather conditions or other emergency situations," according to a statement from FCPS. "During the last 10 years, FCPS had five years in which the average number of snow days equaled more than eight days."

FCPS started discussions with the community on starting school prior to Labor Day back on March 30, when a survey was sent to all parents and staff. It got a huge response, with more than 36,000 parents commenting.

So next fall, kids will be headed back to school on Monday, Aug. 28 instead of waiting until September. The last day will be Friday, June 15, and there will be a two-week winter break from Dec. 18 until Jan. 1, and a one-week spring break from March 26 through the 30th.

"These changes are being made to provide more instructional time before winter break, enhanced flexibility to help students and school staff members meet college application deadlines, and to end the school year earlier in June," the statement reads.

You can view the full calendar here.

Image via Wikimedia user Robbieraeful