PWCS requests your feedback on 2025-26 student instructional calendar

Prince William County Public Schools invites you to provide your input on the 2025-26 instructional calendar. Your feedback is crucial in ensuring that our school calendar meets the needs of our diverse community. The annual school calendar survey is open now through Tuesday, October 15.

Parents, guardians, students, and staff are encouraged to share their preferences on the calendar options. Each of the school calendar options reflects the following:

• PWCS’ commitment to learning and achievement for all students and a positive climate and culture for our entire community;
• The collective voices and perspectives of parents, students, and staff; and
• Requirements from the Virginia Department of Education.

In November, your feedback will be presented to the School Board, who will make the final decision on the school calendar.

Don’t miss this opportunity to have your voice heard. The deadline to complete the survey is Tuesday, October 15.

Complete the survey.

Learn more about the calendar options and how they were developed:

• 2025-26 School Calendar Options
• How the Calendar Options Were Developed

2025-26 School Calendar Options

View printable versions of the 2025-26 calendar options:

• 2025-26 Option A
• 2025-26 Option B
• 2025-26 Option C

How the Calendar Options Were Developed

In August, a calendar committee was established to identify priorities for the 2025-26 instructional calendar.

This effort brought together a diverse group of stakeholders, ensuring that voices from all corners of the PWCS community were heard.

• Parents and guardians
• Students
• Teachers
• Support staff members
• School principals
• Community partners

The collaborative process included two in-person calendar committee meetings, and presentations to the Superintendent’s Advisory Council on Instruction and Superintendent’s Principal Advisory Council.

In total, more than 150 PWCS community members were invited to share their priorities for the school calendar and provide feedback on specific draft instructional calendars.

The feedback from these community members revealed several common themes, which were incorporated into the proposed calendar options whenever possible:

• Teacher workdays – The calendars include a teacher workday at the end of each grading period
• Election days – Efforts were made to avoid scheduling student instructional days on the November election day or June primary election day
• Thanksgiving break – The calendars include a three-day Thanksgiving break
• Winter break – The calendars include two full weeks for winter break (when possible)
• Spring break – A full week of spring break is maintained during the week of Easter, and the Monday following Easter is designated as a non-instructional day
• End of school year – The committee’s goal was to end the school year for students by June 15

The annual PWCS instructional calendar was crafted to meet state requirements and community preferences. Virginia law allows school divisions to begin student instruction up to two weeks before Labor Day, provided they include a four-day Labor Day weekend for students. For the 2025-26 school year, PWCS plans to start the instructional year before Labor Day, incorporating the mandated four-day weekend.

In a continued commitment to cultural inclusivity, PWCS added four holidays to the 2021-22 school calendar, which have been maintained in subsequent years. PWCS intends to continue including these holidays in future school calendars if they impact instructional days.