Fairfax County Public Schools’ calendar frustrates parents due to excessive breaks scattered throughout the year. The schedule includes federal holidays, teacher workdays designated as student holidays, and monthly early-release days for elementary students.
Parent Alix Fetch noted the scarcity of complete five-day weeks. She explained that the Park Authority offers one-day camps costing approximately $75 during school closures, but called this option “kind of vital for a lot of us that are working.” Working parents must either take unpaid time off or arrange alternative childcare.
Spring break recently concluded, yet students face additional disruptions. April 6 marks a teacher workday and April 10 a school planning day, both closed to students. Fetch emphasized: “When every other week they’re not in school for the full week, that’s certainly not helping maintain consistency or behavioral expectations.”
Virginia requires either 180 school days or 990 instructional hours annually, with each district determining how to meet these standards.
School Board Member Mateo Dunne reported that just over half of the 2025-26 academic year consists of complete five-day weeks. He stated Fairfax County has the longest school year, shortest summer break, most days off, and lowest percentage of five-day weeks compared to peer districts.
Parent Eileen Chollet noted assumptions about parental work schedules ignore military families and retail workers with inconsistent hours.
Four board members — Dunne, Melanie Meren, Ricardy Anderson, and Ryan McElveen — proposed calendar changes: opening schools on Veterans Day and Indigenous Peoples Day, and limiting elementary early-release days to four annually. A vote was scheduled for April 9.
Meren stated these modifications would provide “at least two additional full school weeks for families this fall.”
This article originally appeared in WTOP News. Read the original at https://wtop.com/fairfax-county/2026/03/chaotic-and-erratic-fairfax-co-families-call-for-changes-to-school-calendars/.