Beginning with the 2026–2027 school year (not this year), Spokane Public Schools will be moving to a balanced school calendar. After multiple years of working alongside parents, students, staff, and community stakeholders, SPS announced in August 2025 that the district will implement a balanced calendar for the 2026–27 and 2027–28 school years. This calendar was thoughtfully developed to better support student learning, well-being, and family engagement.
What does a balanced calendar mean?
The balanced calendar slightly shortens summer break by just a couple of days, while adding more evenly spaced breaks throughout the school year. Under this model, students will have:
A full week off in October
Two weeks off in December for Winter Break (as usual)
A full week off in February
Our usual week off for Spring Break
Why SPS is making this change
Research and district experiences show that a balanced calendar can:
Reduce summer learning loss, which disproportionately affects underserved students
Improve student achievement and knowledge retention
Support student and staff well-being through more consistent breaks
Increase teacher satisfaction and morale
Enhance family engagement by creating more predictable opportunities for connection and rest
During the 2026–27 and 2027–28 school years, SPS and the Spokane Education Association will continue to gather feedback from families, students, and staff. That feedback will help guide calendar planning in future years.
Again, this change does not impact the current school year. We're sharing this information now, and will continue to do so, so families have ample time to learn about the calendar, review key dates, and prepare well in advance.
You can learn more, explore FAQs, and view both the 2026–27 and 2027–28 calendars here.
You can also view the 2026–27 school year calendar directly here.