Fairfax County Public Schools 2017-18 Calendar — Dates to Remember

It won’t be long before we see school buses on the roads and groups of kids shuffling off to school.

In a change from past years, students will return to schools in August. The Fairfax County Public Schools board decided last year to approve a new calendar that will start classes the week before Labor Day. According to FCPS, that change was 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 last day of the 2017-18 FCPS school year will be June 15. Graduations will begin June 7.

New teacher training will start one week from today, while full teacher workdays begin the Monday after that. One week later, on Aug. 28, kids will get to work.

Here are some more dates to remember as we head into the new school year.

• Students will be off Friday, Sept. 22; Monday, Nov. 6; Tuesday, Nov. 7; Friday, Jan. 26; Monday, Jan. 29; Monday, April 2; and Monday, April 16 for staff work, planning and development days
• Thanksgiving Break is slated for Nov. 23-24
• Winter Break will run from Dec. 18-Jan. 1
• Spring Break will be from March 26-March 30
• Other observed holidays will be Labor Day (Sept. 4), Columbus Day (Oct. 9), Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Jan. 15), Presidents Day (Feb. 19) and Memorial Day (May 28)

FCPS has the equivalent of 13 days (78 hours) built into the calendar. A 14th missed day would not need required by state code to be made up; if there is a 15th missed day, April 16 would be considered as a makeup day.