Holyoke Public Schools has released the district’s 2025-26 school calendar, which is now posted on the calendar page of the district website. PDFs are provided in English and Spanish. Additional languages will be coming soon.
School opens for students in grades 1-12 on Monday, August 25. School opens for students in PreK and kindergarten on Wednesday, August 27. “Please mark those dates on your calendar,” said Superintendent Anthony Soto. “It is important for families to arrange their summer travel plans to ensure their children are home and ready for the first day of school.”
While most of next year’s calendar follows a similar schedule to prior years, there are two sets of dates to take note of:
Students in PreK and kindergarten will start the new school year on Wednesday, August 27, just two days later than students in grades 1-12. In prior years, PreK and kindergarten students started in early September. HPS made this change to provide the district’s youngest learners more days in the classroom and to provide families a back-to-school start that is better aligned with the schedule for older siblings.
Students will be on break from Wednesday, December 24, 2025 through Three Kings Day on Tuesday, January 6, 2026, with a return to school on Wednesday, January 7. Like this year, next year’s holiday break will be longer because it will include two professional development days for staff that in prior years took place at other times. HPS made this adjustment in an attempt to maximize student attendance.
“As always, we encourage families to plan vacations and other absences so they fall during holidays and other HPS scheduled days off to support your children’s on-going good attendance at school,” Mr. Soto said. “There is a direct correlation between regular school attendance and academic achievement. Thank you for helping your child build the habit of regular attendance.”