The Montgomery County Public School (MCPS) Board approved the 2025-2026 school year calendar with a 7–1 vote, Dec. 5.
The calendar sets the school year from Aug. 26, 2025, to June 17, 2026, with 181 instructional days and six contingency days for inclement weather or emergencies. It also includes an eight-day winter break, excluding weekends, from Dec. 24, 2025 to Jan. 4, 2026, and a six-day spring break from March 30, 2026 to April 6, 2026.
This new calendar introduces a student transition day, a full non-instructional day for new students, scheduled for Aug. 25, 2025. The day aims to help new students, including those in kindergarten, sixth and ninth grade, acclimate to their schools before classes officially begin.
Superintendent Thomas Taylor first proposed the transition day in September to the board’s policy management committee. Christine Malcodi, MCPS Executive Director of the Office of District Operations, said the transition day would be an opportunity to build community and foster a sense of belonging for new students.
“The idea is, if you feel that people want you there, you feel welcome, then you’re more likely to want to be there,” Malchodi said. “So, when we think about how to start that work, we started thinking about this idea of a transition day.”
Unlike past orientations held the week before school, which often saw low attendance, the new transition day falls closer to the start of the school year, including activities like pep rallies, student panels and classroom introductions. MCPS Chief of District Operations Dana Edwards said the day will help ease nerves and ensure new students feel prepared. MCPS will provide transportation for students to attend the day.
Jen Villani, the mother of an incoming freshman at Whitman for the 2025-2026 school year said she likes the convenience of the transition day, which falls on the same week as the first day of school.
“I think actually more kids will do it now that it’s the Monday before school than when it was the Thursday the week before,” Villani said. “It also helps students become not as nervous going into their first day because they’ve just had that experience of being there without the full student body.”
Board member Karla Silvestre cast the sole opposing vote, arguing that a full day wasn’t necessary for the transition activities. The 7 other board members voted in favor of the transition day lasting a full day.
MCPS integrated the community into the calendar development process through surveys, focus groups and feedback from diverse stakeholders. This effort aligns with the Board’s priorities to promote academic achievement and foster safe and welcoming learning environments.
