CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WAVY) — Chesapeake School Board members voted 7-0 Monday night to continue with post-Labor Day starts to the school year.
Currently, Chesapeake, Accomack and Isle of Wight are the only local school divisions that still start the school year after Labor Day.
Board Chairwoman Angela Swygert said the decision to adopt the post-Labor Day lengthened 2025-2026 calendar meets the needs of the families they serve. It includes starting the school year Sept. 2, having three days off for Thanksgiving, a 10-day winter break and a six-day spring break for students (five days for staff).
The school year will also end June 16 for students and June 17 for staff, versus the post-Labor Day condensed option that would have ended the school year June 11 for students and June 12 for staff. If the board had adopted one of the two pre-Labor Day start calendars, the 2025-2026 school year would have started Aug. 25 for students and ended either June 9 or June 11.
“For us, we have overwhelmingly continued to receive the feedback that everybody wants all the way through Labor Day weekend to enjoy the rest of their summer,” Swygert said. “At the previous meeting, we considered four options. We periodically take surveys and take the pulse of the public.”
This year’s survey showed the overwhelming support of again starting after Labor Day instead of starting the new school year in August.
“We wanted to make sure that we were on top of what our families wanted,” Swygert said, “whether that was moving for the first time to a pre-Labor Day start, which has historically never been popular in Chesapeake.”
Monday’s decision came without an opposing vote by the board, though two board members did not vote — one board member was traveling, while another had to leave the meeting before the vote.
It’s a decision many parents support.
“[I support] after Labor Day because it will give more time for the parent to be prepared,” Chesapeake parent Diaka Keita said.
These were the different options the board considered below:
All possible calendar options included the following:
- 177 instructional days for elementary students — 180 instructional days for secondary students
- Return to school after Winter Break on Jan. 5, 2026
- Three elementary-only teacher work days
- Two work days in between semesters
- Two early release days prior to the last day of school
