This school year, FCPS students enjoyed more holidays than previous years, with 40 days off in total. The change came through a 2023 FCPS school board decision, which approved a three-year plan to expand cultural holiday observance, staff planning days and special elections.
This change was beneficial for students because it honored more holidays and gave students much-needed time off to study amid mounting workload and academic pressure.
In contrast, the school board decided in a March 2026 meeting that the 2026-27 school year would only have 33 days off. Taking away 7 holidays puts three more five-day school weeks on the calendar. Reverting student holidays into full-instructional days and having more five-day weeks in the school year is detrimental to both cultural customs and student mental health.
“FCPS supports a school calendar that prioritizes teaching and learning and exceeds state required instructional hours as we continue to provide a world class education for students,” FCPS said in a public statement.
To make this change, FCPS has adjusted holidays like Veteran’s Day to be full instructional days rather than days off.
On top of this, these additional school days are not being added back into the summer, making summer only 8 weeks long compared to 10 weeks long for the 2023-24 school year. FCPS has a 303 day school year and only 62 days of summer, shorter than any other locality in the D.C. region. For example, Loudoun county gets 5 more days of summer break than FCPS.
Having less days off is detrimental because it means holidays that are important to people will not be given proper value. For example, next year, Veteran’s Day will be a full instruction day for FCPS. As a result, the occasion will not be observed with the respect it deserves.
Some supporters of having fewer days off may argue that many parents cannot simply leave their children at home while they are off working and are unable to afford daycare for their children as an alternative.
While this is a valid concern, school scheduling is not the root of the problem and cutting back on holidays is merely a short term solution to a bigger problem.
Also, students often use those days off to study for tests, catch up on missing homework or get ahead in their classes, making those days off beneficial to many students’ academic success.
“[FCPS] should give more breaks in between weeks because a lot of students are really
busy on the weekends so the holiday is really helpful with managing homework,” sophomore Rebecca Sarmiento said. “Also, weekends are good for college visits.”
Ultimately, having days off is beneficial for honoring important holidays, allowing students to catch up on their school work and managing their mental health. Reducing the number of these days is detrimental to students, and FCPS should reconsider this reduction in student holidays in their next school board meeting.
