Palo Alto Unified School District Calendar 2026-27

The PAUSD 2026-27 calendar

This is the district's own calendar, as PAUSD publishes it. Tap it to open the full-size image.

Add the PAUSD calendar to your phone

Pick a file. Each one is an all-day event per day off or half day, and a break is one event across all its days.

On an iPhone

Tap a file above, then tap Add All. The dates go into the calendar you choose.

In Google Calendar

On a computer, open Google Calendar, then Settings, then Import & export. Choose the file and the calendar to add it to. The dates show up on your Android phone too.

In Outlook

Open the downloaded file, or in Outlook on the web go to Add calendar, then Upload from file.

These files are a copy of the calendar today. If the district changes a date, download the file again.

PAUSD vacations and holidays, 2026-27

Every day with no school for students, from the first day to the last: 13 entries and 31 weekdays in all.

PAUSD early release days

Eight early release days in all.

Calendar notes: what to plan around

Long weekends and breaks

Every stretch of three or more days with no school, counting weekends. A half day next to a weekend adds half a day.

• 3.5-day weekend: Friday, Sept. 4 at early dismissal to Monday, Sept. 7. Early release day and Labor Day. Back Tuesday, Sept. 8.
• 3-day weekend: Friday, Oct. 2 to Sunday, Oct. 4. Staff development day, no school. Back Monday, Oct. 5.
• 2.5-day weekend: Friday, Oct. 30 at early dismissal to Sunday, Nov. 1. Early release day. Back Monday, Nov. 2.
• 9.5 days off in a row: Friday, Nov. 20 at early dismissal to Sunday, Nov. 29. Early release day and Thanksgiving break. Back Monday, Nov. 30.
• 17.5 days off in a row: Friday, Dec. 18 at early dismissal to Monday, Jan. 4. Early release day, end of 1st semester and winter break. Back Tuesday, Jan. 5.
• 3-day weekend: Saturday, Jan. 16 to Monday, Jan. 18. Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Back Tuesday, Jan. 19.
• 4-day weekend: Friday, Feb. 12 to Monday, Feb. 15. Local holiday and Presidents Day. Back Tuesday, Feb. 16.
• 4-day weekend: Saturday, March 13 to Tuesday, March 16. Local holiday and staff development day, no school. Back Wednesday, March 17.
• 9.5 days off in a row: Friday, April 2 at early dismissal to Sunday, April 11. Early release day and spring break. Back Monday, April 12.
• 3-day weekend: Friday, April 30 to Sunday, May 2. Local holiday. Back Monday, May 3.
• 3.5-day weekend: Saturday, May 29 to Monday, May 31. Memorial Day. Tuesday, June 1, an early release day.

One early release on a Friday or Monday makes a 2.5-day weekend.

Weeks with fewer than five school days

Eleven weeks have fewer than five school days, and four weeks have none at all.

Teacher workdays: no school for students

Two of the days off are staff days. Teachers work; students stay home. Plan child care as you would for a holiday.

• Friday, Oct. 2: staff development day, no school
• Tuesday, March 16: staff development day, no school

Makeup days

The district calendar names no makeup days. If school closes for weather, the district announces how the day is made up.

Also worth knowing

• School is open on a federal holiday: Columbus Day (Monday, Oct. 12). Banks, post offices and many offices close; school does not.
• The district calendar prints no parent-teacher conference dates. Schools set their own.
• The district calendar prints no testing dates.
• After the last day, the calendar still shows teacher work day (June 4) and Juneteenth (observed) (June 18). Students are already out.

First and last day of school

The first day of school is Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026. The last day is Thursday, June 3, 2027, with early dismissal.

Teachers start sooner. Staff days before school run Aug. 10 to 12.

The district prints 180 instructional days across the semesters (secondary). Our count of the calendar matches.

Grading periods

Quarters

Semesters (secondary)

Trimesters

What the district notes

• Kindergarten moves to full days on Monday, Oct. 19, the calendar's "First Day of Full-Day Kindergarten".
• Monday, Jan. 4, the last day of winter break, is a staff day: staff development for K-8 and a teacher work day for 9-12. Students return Tuesday, Jan. 5.
• The calendar prints a school day count for each month, 180 days in all (84 in the first semester and 96 in the second).

How we checked these dates

We read every date off the district's own calendar twice: once from the PDF's text and once from the image, cell by cell against its legend. Then we checked each one against the district's web calendar.

Every weekday on this page matches its date. The district's printed day counts match our own count of its calendar. If the district changes its calendar, its page is the final word.