A weeklong fall break for Carmel Clay Schools students is here to stay, at least for the next few years.
The CCS board of trustees unanimously approved school calendars for the 2025-26 and 2026-27 school years during its March 26 meeting. The calendars have many similarities to the current school year, which extended fall break to a full week for the first time in 2023.
A survey of more than 3,200 parents and nearly 900 CCS staff members showed that both groups favored the longer fall break, with 73 percent of parents and 82 percent of teachers in support.
One change to the newly approved calendars is holding the first day of school on a Wednesday, with teachers returning to campus two days earlier. This school year and next, the first day of school was and will be on a Monday. The first day of school in 2025 and 2026 will be Aug. 5 and Aug. 6, respectively. The final day of school will be May 22 in 2026 and May 21 in 2027.
The first semester will continue to end at winter break. Spring break will be shortened by one day, with the typical Friday before the weeklong break becoming a school day so that the last day of classes can be held before Memorial Day.
School board member Jennifer Nelson-Williams thanked administrators for their efforts to gather community input in building the calendars.
“I heard a lot of positive feedback in the community about the May end (dates),” she said. “I’m sure it’s a huge feat to do such a large sampling study, but I think it’s really good for people and it lets them feel more invested in the process.”
View the calendars at ccs.k12.in.us/about/district-calendar.
