Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) approved a calendar for the following three school years. This calendar is an amended version of the draft Blue calendar that many FCPS staff and students voted for in a survey distributed by the county. The other three calendar options included a Green, Orange, and Purple draft of the calendar.

The Blue calendar includes the same length of winter break and spring break that we have seen in the past, which students are sure to appreciate, as the draft Orange and Green calendar shortened Winter Break to only one week and three days.

“I don’t care when the school year starts or ends, but I need winter break and spring break to stay the same length,” Avery Canedo (’24) said.

In addition to a two week winter break and a one week spring break, the Blue calendar provides 180 instructional days and a start date of Aug. 21 for the 2023-2024 school year. During the school year, students will enjoy 11 student holidays and teachers will have 15 professional workdays. The school year will come to a close on June 12.

Although FCPS chose the Blue calendar, most Madison students preferred the draft Purple calendar according to Madison News Network . This calendar had only 177 school days, with the same start and a similar end date as the Blue calendar.

“The Purple calendar was definitely my favorite option, because it has the most days off,” McKenzie Tran (’24) said.