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Students in Prince Edward County Public Schools will be starting classes on Aug. 5 this fall. That was one of a couple changes adopted for next semester, as the Prince Edward school board approved the calendar during their Thursday, March 6 meeting. 

Under this plan, new teachers will report on July 23-24, with convocation taking place on July 28. Open House will then be held on July 31, from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. 

“(Option 1 had) pretty much everything that the committee discussed as priorities, as well as what we heard from the community, making sure that we protected the children’s book festival,” said Jeanine Garrett. She works as Director of Curriculum and Instruction for the district. “One of the differences in Option 1 is that we start not on a Monday. That is definitely a preference for the teachers as well as the students. First week of school is exhausting for everybody, but it’s a lot to get the students back in a routine.” 

Under this plan, which was unanimously approved by the school board, students start classes on Aug. 5. The bigger changes happen later in the school year, with some reworked time off. 

There will be a break in mid-October, with a five day weekend. Students will be off Oct. 10, which will be a Teacher Workday, and then have the following Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 13 and Oct. 14, off as well. 

During last month’s first presentation, calendar committee member and kindergarten teacher Ashley Ross said that was a request they had received multiple times. 

“We got feedback from staff [saying] ‘we are tired our children are tired come October’,” Ross said in the February meeting. “Teacher absenteeism is the highest in October and student disciplinary referrals are highest in October. We saw our teachers need a break and our students need a break.” 

Prince Edward school board makes a decision

In 2024, the Prince Edward school board considered making the Thanksgiving holiday a full week, arguing that teachers and students needed it. However in the end, the group agreed to table the idea and revisit it. In the end, the calendar committee decided it was more important to have that break in October than the full week at Thanksgiving. 

Schools in Virginia are required to be in session 180 days. If the district gave the full week at Thanksgiving and added the October break, days off would have to be taken from other parts of the calendar to balance that out. 

Under the approved calendar, Thanksgiving break will run from Wednesday, Nov. 26 to Friday, Nov. 28, with early dismissal on Tuesday, Nov. 25. Then the Christmas break will start on Thursday, Dec. 18, with an early dismissal. The Christmas break will run from Dec. 19 to Jan. 5, with a teacher workday scheduled for Jan. 5. Students will then return on Jan. 6. And the 2025-26 school year for Prince Edward will wrap up on Friday, May 22, with early dismissal. Teacher workdays will run from May 26 through May 27, with final report cards going out on Thursday, May 28, 2026.