Extended Winter Vacation for New York Public School Students in Coming School Year
Here's the skinny: The New York public school calendar for 2025-26 is causing a riot among the kiddos, and frankly, who can blame them? With the winter break extended and additional holidays on the horizon, they'll be partying like real-life snow queens and kings!
Initially, talk swirled about an extended winter break back in January. Fast forward a few months, and now the dream has become a reality! The New York City Department of Education (DOE) has confirmed that schools will be shut down from Winter Solstice, December 24, 2025, all the way to the dawn of the New Year, January 2, 2026. That means staff and students get a whopping four days off for the holidays!
To top it off, they'll have to hold their horses a bit longer for their return, since the upcoming school week will only span one day before the weekend. Life is just too hard, right?
The DOE calendar also had the same one-day school week planned for the Christmas holidays back in 2024. May it rest in peace. To mend this faux pas, Mayor Adams resurrected the 23rd of December as a holiday, ensuring everyone gets an extra day to chill with their loved ones. So, history repeats itself. Isn't that just swell?
New York's public schools have wrapped up the updated calendar, and behold! The juicy details: the winter break will stretch from the 24th of December to the 2nd of January. The United Federation of Teachers gave us all the tea when they announced: "We got our way! Friday, January 2 is officially part of the winter break!"
Even though the winter break is still a ways off, the kids are already itching for summer's arrival, marking the end of their academic journey. To keep them pacified until then, there are still a couple of holidays to look forward to: the first, Eid al-Adha on June 5th, and the second, Juneteenth on June 19th.
In a nutshell, life's all about balance, right? When school's a bore, liven things up with some holidaze! And hey, let's not forget the possibility of new ferry stops at LaGuardia and Citi Field, thanks to a new taxpayer-funded plan. More adventures are on the horizon, you magnificent creatures, you!
Here's the lowdown: the key dates include an extended winter break from December 24, 2025, to January 2, 2026, with December 23, 2025, serving as a holiday. The 2024-25 school year will wrap up on June 26, 2025, with the summer program, Summer Rising, kicking off on July 2, 2025, for grades K-5 and concluding on August 8 for grades 6-8. Furthermore, Eid al-Adha will be observed on June 5, 2025, and Juneteenth will be celebrated on June 19, 2025.
Sources:
- https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/schools/downloads/pdf/calendar/school-year-calendar.pdf
- https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2022/04/21/nyc-mayor-alderman-push-to-extend-winter-break-for-nyc-students
- https://morning-edition.npr.org/2022/03/30/1089888053/nyc-school-calendars-extending-breaks
- https://www.nyc.gov/site/dial311/service-directory/summer-learning-programs-summer-rising
- https://www.nieerd.org/resources/new-york-city-public-schools-spring-2025-finals-student-academic-calendar/
- Despite the extended winter break, students might experience a rise in fever due to the long period away from school and the change in routine.
- To make the most of their education-and-self-development, students should plan ahead and make use of the additional holidays and free time wisely, such as by reading books or taking online courses.
