Dear LCPS Families,
At the February 10 School Board meeting, the Board approved the calendar for the 2025-26 school year. We sincerely appreciate your initial input, as well as the additional feedback provided through the parent survey.
Next year’s calendar reflects the preferences shared by the majority of families and staff. Key highlights include:
A full week off at Thanksgiving, as preferred by most respondents.
The school year ending before Memorial Day.
No earlier start than the current year.
A two-week winter break.
The calendar is built in accordance with the Code of Virginia, which requires schools to provide either 180 days or 990 hours of instruction each year. The approved calendar exceeds the 990-hour requirement, allowing us to bank instructional hours in case of weather-related or other unexpected closures as does this year's calendar.
As you are well aware, this year has brought snowfall that resulted in multiple school closures—the first time in several years that we’ve had to close for multiple days due to weather. If additional closures occur, we will need to reassess whether and how instructional time should be made up. Options may include:
Using banked instructional hours (which we currently have available),
Converting scheduled non-school days, such as part of spring break or other days, into instructional days,
Adding days to the end of the school year, or
Extending the school day.
Looking ahead, we will begin working on the 2026-27 calendar soon and aim to have it approved this spring. This will allow families and staff to plan ahead with a two-year calendar.
The full-size version of the 25-26 is available on our website, along with many other helpful resources.
Thank you for your valuable input and continued support!
Jessica Davis