Wake County Public School System Calendar 2026-27

The WCPSS 2026-27 calendar

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

Add the WCPSS calendar to your phone

Pick a file. Each one is an all-day event per day off, 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.

WCPSS vacations and holidays, 2026-27

Every day with no school for students, from the first day to the last: 16 entries and 31 weekdays in all.

WCPSS early release days

The 2026-27 traditional calendar prints no early release or half days. Every school day on it is a full day.

Schools can still send their own early dismissal notices, so watch for those.

Calendar notes: what to plan around

Long weekends and breaks

Every stretch of three or more days with no school, counting weekends.

• 3-day weekend: Saturday, Sept. 5 to Monday, Sept. 7. Labor Day. Back Tuesday, Sept. 8.
• 3-day weekend: Saturday, Sept. 19 to Monday, Sept. 21. Teacher workday. Back Tuesday, Sept. 22.
• 3-day weekend: Saturday, Oct. 10 to Monday, Oct. 12. Teacher workday. Back Tuesday, Oct. 13.
• 5-day weekend: Wednesday, Nov. 25 to Sunday, Nov. 29. Thanksgiving break. Back Monday, Nov. 30.
• 16 days off in a row: Saturday, Dec. 19 to Sunday, Jan. 3. Winter break. Back Monday, Jan. 4.
• 4-day weekend: Saturday, Jan. 16 to Tuesday, Jan. 19. Martin Luther King Jr. Day and teacher workday. Back Wednesday, Jan. 20.
• 3-day weekend: Saturday, Feb. 13 to Monday, Feb. 15. Teacher workday. Back Tuesday, Feb. 16.
• 11 days off in a row: Friday, March 26 to Monday, April 5. Holiday, spring break and teacher workday. Back Tuesday, April 6.
• 3-day weekend: Saturday, May 15 to Monday, May 17. Teacher workday. Back Tuesday, May 18.
• 3-day weekend: Saturday, May 29 to Monday, May 31. Memorial Day. Back Tuesday, June 1.

Weeks with fewer than five school days

Fourteen weeks have fewer than five school days, and three weeks have none at all.

Teacher workdays: no school for students

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

• Monday, Sept. 21: teacher workday
• Monday, Oct. 12: teacher workday
• Tuesday, Nov. 3: teacher workday
• Tuesday, Jan. 19: teacher workday
• Monday, Feb. 15: teacher workday
• Wednesday, March 10: teacher workday
• Monday, April 5: teacher workday
• Monday, May 17: teacher workday

Makeup days

Weather makeup day 1 (if needed), Monday, Oct. 12, Weather makeup day 2 (if needed), Monday, Feb. 15 and Weather makeup day 3 (if needed), Monday, April 5.

Also worth knowing

• The calendar prints no parent-teacher conference days. Schools set their own.
• The calendar prints no testing windows. WCPSS posts testing calendars separately on its calendar page.
• After the last day, the calendar still shows teacher workdays (June 10). Students are already out.

First and last day of school

The first day of school is Monday, Aug. 24, 2026. The last day is Wednesday, June 9, 2027.

Teachers start sooner. Staff days before school run Aug. 17 to 21.

Grading periods

WCPSS grades in nine-week quarters. The calendar prints each quarter's end date and report card date. Each quarter starts on the first school day after the last one ends.

What the district notes

• Before any of the three teacher workdays is used, WCPSS has 6 banked days and 5 remote instruction days for weather. District leadership decides the order.
• Under the NC calendar law, if schools must close, the superintendent will update the calendar using teacher workdays, Saturdays (full instructional days), banked hours of instruction or vacation days. Holidays are used only when all other options are exhausted.
• This is the traditional calendar, which most WCPSS schools follow. Year-round (tracks 1 to 4), single-track year-round, modified calendar and several early college and leadership academy schools have their own calendars. Check which calendar your school uses.

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 WCPSS Calendars and Attendance page, the district's accessible text version of the traditional calendar and the district's Google Calendar for the traditional calendar.

Every weekday on this page matches its date. If the district changes its calendar, its page is the final word.