This September might be the last time that Alexandria City Public Schools open the day after Labor Day.
ACPS students go back to school Sept. 8 for this upcoming 2020-2021 school year, thanks to an unusually "late" Labor Day, but the next school year (2021-2022) will start in late August.
However, Alexandria City Public Schools is considering starting school before Labor Day in 2021, meaning the school year would start in late August. (Teachers and administrators would start earlier.)
The earlier start will align the Alexandria City Public Schools calendar more closely with Fairfax County, Arlington County and other nearby school systems.
Switching to a pre-Labor Day start will shorten summer break in 2021 due to the transition from the traditional calendar in the 2020-2021 school year, with classes ending in late June for K-8 schools, to the new calendar.
Now that the Commonwealth of Virginia is allowing exceptions to the so-called "King's Dominion" rule that required most school systems to start after Labor Day, more school systems are starting in August.
Here's the calendar:
2020
School Ends: June 19
School Starts: Sept. 8
Note: The school system has not announced yet whether students will return fully to in-person instruction or if there will be some virtual learning due to concerns about coronavirus in schools.
2021
School Ends: June 23
School Starts: Aug. 24
2022
School Ends: June 10
The ACPS School Board is meeting every Friday for the rest of this school year — more information about agendas and participation is available here.
