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Dear School District of Philadelphia community,

I am happy to share that, at its meeting last night, the Board of Education voted to adopt the academic calendars for the 2025-2026 & 2026-2027 school years. In developing the academic calendars, our primary goal was to establish a schedule that supports student learning and meets the diverse needs of students, families, and staff, while also adhering to calendar requirements mandated by the Pennsylvania Department of Education and Collective Bargaining Units.

To finalize the School Year 2025-2026 and School Year 2026-2027 calendars, we engaged a variety of stakeholders, including District parents and guardians, to understand the priorities of our various audiences, and to ensure that our core beliefs, goals, and commitment to equity are reflected. The input and feedback collected from this community engagement, which included town hall sessions, meetings, and surveys, informed many decisions including:

• Providing five full days of staff professional learning before the first day of school to ensure that staff are equipped to implement District priorities.
• Engaging staff in professional development on a more regular cadence in alignment with the new curriculum.
• Ensuring longest possible Winter and Spring recesses for students and staff to recharge and reduce feelings of burnout. 
• Prioritizing equity and inclusivity by observing cultural and religious holidays that fall on weekdays as days off.

Highlights for the 2025-2026 academic calendar include:

• The first day of school will be Monday, August 25, 2025, and the last day of school will be June 12, 2026.
• Non-mandated holidays observed as days off will include Labor Day, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Indigenous Peoples’ Day, Veteran’s Day, MLK Jr. Day, President’s Day, Lunar New Year, Eid al-Fitr, Good Friday, Eid al-Adha, and Juneteenth.
• Winter recess will begin on December 24, 2025 and students will return to school January 5, 2026. Staff will return for a full day professional development on January 2, 2025.
• Spring recess will begin on Monday, March 30, 2026 and students and staff will return to school on Monday, April 5, 2025.

Highlights for the 2026-2027 academic calendar include:

• The first day of school will be Monday, August 24, 2026 and the last day of school will be June 10, 2027.
• Non-mandated holidays observed as days off will include Labor Day, Yom Kippur, Indigenous Peoples’ Day, Veteran’s Day, MLK Jr. Day, President’s Day, Eid al-Fitr, Good Friday, Eid al-Adha, and Juneteenth, noting that Rosh Hashanah and Lunar New Year fall on weekends.
• Winter recess will begin on December 23, 2026 and students and staff will return to school January 4, 2027.
• Spring recess will begin on Monday, March 22, 2027 and students and staff will return to school on Monday, March 29, 2027.

I encourage families to review both calendars on the District’s website at www.philasd.org/calendar. We have also provided an executive summary and FAQ document on our website with more details on our rationale and decision-making process. Thank you for collaborating with us to develop these calendars!

In partnership,

Tony B. Watlington Sr., Ed.D.
Superintendent
The School District of Philadelphia