Academic Calendar - The School District of Philadelphia (2024)

August 2023 | 0 Student Days; 3 Staff Days

• 29th: Staff Professional Development or Reorganization (Varies by School)
• 30th- 31st: Staff Professional Development

September 2023 | 18 Student Days; 19 Staff Days

• 1st: Staff Professional Development or Reorganization (Varies by School)
• 4th: Labor Day; Schools closed for students and staff; Administrative offices closed
• 5th: First day of school for students
• 5th-11th: Kindergarten interview days (Three Hour early dismissal K only)
• 25th:Yom Kippur; Schools closed for students and staff; Administrative offices closed
• 29th: Staff Professional Development (Half Day); Three Hour Early Dismissal for Students

Additional Important Dates:
16th-17th: Rosh Hashanah (Weekend)

October 2023 |21 Student Days; 22 Staff Days

• 27th: Staff Professional Development (Full Day); School closed for students

Additional Important Dates:
9th: Indigenous Peoples’ Day of Learning (In-school day)

November 2023 |18 Student Days; 19 Staff Days

• 7th: Election Day; Schools closed for students and staff
• 22nd: 3-hour Early Dismissal for students and staff
• 23rd-24th: Thanksgiving Recess; School closed for students and staff; Administrative offices closed
• 27th: Term 1 Report Card Conferences (Full Day); School closed for students

Additional Important Dates:
5th: Daylight Saving Time ends
11th: Veterans Day
12th: Diwali

December 2023 |16 Student Days; 16 Staff Days

• 15th: Staff Professional Development (Half Day); Three Hour Early Dismissal for Students
• 25th: Christmas Day; School closed for students and staff; Administrative offices closed
• 26th-29th: Winter Recess; School closed for students and staff; Administrative offices closed

January 2024 |20 Student Days; 21 Staff Days

• 1st: New Year’s Day; School closed for students and staff; Administrative offices closed
• 2nd: Staff Professional Development (Full Day); School closed for students
• 15th: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Day; School closed for students and staff; Administrative offices closed

Additional Important Dates:
3rd-17th: Keystone Testing Window
6th: Three Kings Day

February 2024 | 20 Student Days; 20 Staff Days

• 1st, 2nd: 2nd Term Report Card Conferences (Half Day); Three Hour Early Dismissal for Students
• 9th: Staff Professional Development (Half Day); Three Hour Early Dismissal for Students
• 19th: Presidents’ Day; School closed for students and staff; Administrative offices closed

Additional Important Dates:
10th: Lunar New Year (weekend)

March 2024 | 16 Student Days; 16 Staff Days

• 8th: Staff Professional Development (Half Day); Three Hour Early Dismissal for Students
• 25th-28th: Spring Recess; Schools closed for students and staff
• 29th: Good Friday; School closed for students and staff; Administrative offices closed

Additional Important Dates:
10th: Daylight Saving Time starts
11th: Ramadan begins

April 2024 | 20 Student Days; 20 Staff Days

• 4th, 5th: Report Card Conferences (Half Day); Three Hour Early Dismissal for Students
• 10th: Eid al-Fitr; School closed for students and staff; Administrative offices closed
• 23rd: Election Day; School closed for students and staff

Additional Important Dates:
8th: Ramadan ends
22nd: Passover begins
22nd: PSSA testing window begins
30th: Passover ends

May 2024 | 22 Student Days; 22 Staff Days

• 10th: Staff Professional Development (Half Day); Three Hour Early Dismissal for Students
• 27th: Memorial Day; School closed for students and staff; Administrative offices closed

Additional Important Dates:
3rd: PSSA testing window ends
13th- 24th: Keystone testing window

June 2024 |10 Student Days; 10 Staff Days

• 13th: Staff Professional Development (Half Day); Three Hour Early Dismissal for Students
• 14th: Last Day of School for students and staff; Three Hour Early Dismissal for Students, Full day for Staff
• 17th: Eid al-Adha; Administrative offices closed
• 19th: Juneteenth; Administrative offices closed

Additional Important Dates:
12th-14th: Graduation window

July 2024

• 4th: Independence Day; School closed for students and staff; Administrative offices closed

August 2024

• 20th: Reorganization
• 21st-23rd: Staff Professional Development
• 26th: First day of school for students
• 26th-30th: Kindergarten interview day; Three Hour Early Dismissal (K only)

Please note the following: Some religious holidays begin at sundown on the evening before the holiday. Additionally, some holidays include fasting practices. Please be mindful of these holidays when scheduling tests, activities and events.

Board-approved 2/23/2023

August 2024 | 5 Student Days; 9 Staff Days

• 20th: Staff Professional Development
• 21st: Reorganization
• 22nd-23rd: Staff Professional Development
• 26th: First day of school for students
• 26th-30th: Kindergarten interview day; Three Hour Early Dismissal (K only)

September 2024 | 20 Student Days; 20 Staff Days

• 2nd: Labor Day; Schools closed for students and staff; Administrative offices closed
• 27th: Staff Professional Development (Half Day); Three Hour Early Dismissal for Students

October 2024 | 21 Student Days; 22 Staff Days

• 3rd: Rosh Hashanah; Schools closed for students and staff; Administrative offices closed
• 25th: Staff Professional Development (Full Day); School closed for students

Additional Important Dates:
4th: Second Day of Rosh Hashanah
12th: Yom Kippur (weekend)
14th: Indigenous Peoples’ Day of Learning (In-school day)

November 2024 | 17 Student Days; 18 Staff Days

• 5th: Election Day; Schools closed for students and staff
• 15th Term 1 Report Card Conferences (Full Day); School closed for students
• 27th: 3 hour early dismissal for students and staff
• 28th-29th: Thanksgiving Recess; School closed for students and staff; Administrative offices closed

Additional Important Dates:
1st: Diwali
3rd: Daylight Saving Time ends
11th: Veterans Day (In-school day)

December 2024 | 15 Student Days; 15 Staff Days

• 13th: Staff Professional Development (Half Day); Three Hour Early Dismissal for Students
• 23rd-31st: Winter Recess; School closed for students and staff; Administrative offices closed
• 25th: Christmas Day; School closed for students and staff; Administrative offices closed

January 2025 | 18 Student Days; 19 Staff Days

• 1st: New Year’s Day; School closed for students and staff; Administrative offices closed
• 1st-2nd: Winter Recess cont.; School closed for students and staff; Administrative offices closed
• 3rd: Staff Professional Development (Full Day); School closed for students
• 20th: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day; School closed for students and staff; Administrative offices closed
• 29th: Lunar New Year; School closed for students and staff; Administrative offices closed
• 30th, 31st: Term 2 Report Card Conferences (Half Day); Three Hour Early Dismissal for Students

Additional Important Dates:6th: Three Kings Day, 6th-17th: Keystone Testing Window

February 2025 | 19 Student Days; 19 Staff Days

• 7th: Staff Professional Development (Half Day); Three Hour Early Dismissal for Students
• 17th: Presidents’ Day; School closed for students and staff; Administrative offices closed

Additional Important Dates:
28th: Ramadan begins

March 2025 | 20 Student Days; 20 Staff Days

• 7th: Staff Professional Development (Half Day); Three Hour Early Dismissal for Students
• 27th, 28th: Term 3 Report Card Conferences (Half Day); Three Hour Early Dismissal for Students
• 31st: Eid al-Fitr; School closed for students and staff; Administrative offices closed

Additional Important Dates:
9th: Daylight Saving Time starts
30th: Ramadan ends

April 2025 | 17 Student Days; 17 Staff Days

• 14th-17th: Spring Recess; School closed for students and staff
• 18th: Good Friday; School closed for students and staff; Administrative offices closed

Additional Important Dates:
21st: PSSA testing window begins

May 2025 | 20 Student Days; 20 Staff Days

• 9th: Staff Professional Development (Half Day); Three Hour Early Dismissal for Students
• 20th: Election Day (tentative); School closed for students and staff
• 26th: Memorial Day; School closed for students and staff; Administrative offices closed

Additional Important Dates:
2nd: PSSA testing window ends
12th-23rd: Keystone testing window

June 2025 | 9 Student Days; 9 Staff Days

• 6th: Eid al-Adha; School closed for students and staff; Administrative offices closed
• 11th: Staff Professional Development (Half Day); Three Hour Early Dismissal for Students
• 12th: Last Day of School for students and staff; Three Hour Early Dismissal for Students, Full day for Staff
• 19th: Juneteenth; Administrative offices closed

Additional Important Dates:
10th-12th: Graduation window

July 2025

4th: Independence Day; School closed for students and staff; Administrative offices closed

Please note the following: Some religious holidays begin at sundown on the evening before the holiday. Additionally, some holidays include fasting practices. Please be mindful of these holidays when scheduling tests, activities and events.

Board-approved 2/23/2023

SY 23/24 and SY24/25 Academic Calendars: Executive Summary and Decision Rationale

When developing the annual Academic Calendar for The School District of Philadelphia, our primary goal is to establish a schedule that supports student learning and meets the diverse needs of students, families and staff, while also adhering to calendar requirements mandated by the Pennsylvania Department of Education and Collective Bargaining Units.

To finalize the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 academic calendars, we engaged students, staff, community members, and District families in order to understand the priorities of our various audiences, and to ensure that our core beliefs, goals, and commitment to equity is reflected. To learn more about our methods, you can download our Executive Summary and Decision Rationale Deep Dive HERE.

Outlined below are brief explanations regarding some of the changes that are reflected in the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 academic calendars.

We are committed to engaging all of our stakeholders as we develop future calendars. If you would like to participate in upcoming feedback opportunities, please ensure you are following our social media channels. In addition, we encourage families to sign up for the Parent Portal to receive notifications from the District.

2023/2024 and 2024/2025 Academic Calendars Decisions and Rationale

Changes to the Start and End of the School Year

• Students Return After Labor Day: We had a consistent response in favor of students returning after Labor Day, due to factors including the impacts on attendance, potential heat related school closures and summer travel challenges for international families. This may not be possible every year due to calendar constraints that may require us to adjust. For example, you will notice that students’ first day of school for the 2024-2025 school year will be before Labor Day. However, we will strive to propose that school begins for students after Labor Day as often as possible.
• Last Two Days of School will be Half Days (Three Hour Early Dismissal): During the last two half days of school, staff members will engage in end-of-year activities that will support preparation for the new school year.

Updates to Observed Holidays/Cultural Celebrations

• Indigenous Peoples Day Celebrated as an In–school/In-person day of Learning: In collaboration with Indigenous Peoples’ Day Philly Inc., this day will be used for a day of learning about the history of our Country, State and City and Indigenous Peoples’ contributions to society.
• Holidays/Cultural Celebrations that Fall on Weekends: These will not be observed on the connecting Friday or Monday, except when mandated by the State of Pennsylvania. By doing so, we can observe holidays that fall on school days while still meeting the number of days and instructional hours required by the Pennsylvania Department of Education.
• Lunar New Year: In response to numerous responses to our various feedback sessions, noting the importance of ensuring our large population of Asian communities are represented in the calendar, the Lunar New Year will be included as an observed day off when it falls on a weekday.
• Diwali: After reviewing our community feedback, Diwali was not elevated as a widely observed holiday across our District. As such, it will not be an observed holiday on the calendar, but we will encourage schools to engage in learning about the culture around the holiday.
• Veterans Day: In order to meet the Pennsylvania Department of Education mandated instructional days and hours requirements we decided, based on stakeholder feedback, to prioritize cultural/religious holidays as days off instead of Veterans Day. The day will be used as an in-school day of learning to honor and learn about our Veterans.
• Eid al-Adha: Input from community religious leaders and stakeholder feedback consistently demonstrated the importance of a day off for Eid al-Adha for our significant Muslim population, Eid al-Adha will be observed when it falls during a weekday, during the school year (rather than during the summer).
• Days for Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha: These dates change every year; the District will observe the date recommended by religious leaders for these holidays.

Professional Development Changes

• We will have three days of professional development before the first day of school for students. The multiple days of professional development during this first week for staff will provide a solid foundation for a successful school year.
• There will be five half days (three hour early dismissal days) in the professional development schedule, rather than ten half days. This is a compromise between the challenges that half days impose on families and teachers, and prioritizing time on the calendar for valuable professional development.

Reorganization Day

• Reorganization Day is scheduled for the second day once teachers return, instead of the day scheduled for later in the week. This schedule is in response to feedback from principals and teachers indicating that staff are eager to prepare their classrooms for student’s return as early as possible prior to their return the following week.

Report Card Conference Changes

• Term 1 Report Card Conferences will now be one full day instead of multiple half-days. With a full day, Parents/Guardians will attend report card conferences at a time of day that best meets their schedule, while reducing student attendance challenges on half-days.
• Term 2 and 3 Report Card Conferences will be reduced from three (3) half days for students to two (2) half days which is in response to parent feedback that half-days present hardships, and schools report lower student attendance on half days.

Updates to Thanksgiving and Winter Breaks

• In response to consistent staff and community members requests, the day before Thanksgiving will be a half day, to allow time to prepare and travel. Attendance on this day has historically been low.
• Administrative offices have been closed during the winter recess for the past three years. This practice will now be formalized in the calendar so that staff may plan for travel and/or childcare needs in advance.
• In SY24/25, there will be additional days off during the winter break due to Christmas and New Years Days falling on Wednesdays.