PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — Students who attend Portsmouth Public Schools will begin the next school year before Labor Day following School Board approval.

The school division said the change was put into place “to best align with neighboring school divisions in the region.”

Portsmouth Public Schools students will start the next school year Aug. 26 and finish June 6. Students will also have two weeks off for winter break, from Dec. 23 through Jan. 3.

Other school divisions that have announced moves to a pre-Labor Day start to the 2024-2025 school year include Virginia Beach and Norfolk.

See Portsmouth Public Schools’ new calendar for the 2024-2025 school year below:

Besides the change to the school calendar, the school division will be adjusting school hours for elementary students.

For tier A elementary schools, school hours will be 8:35 a.m. to 3:25 p.m. Those schools include Churchland Academy (along with Churchland Preschool Center), Churchland Primary and Intermediate, Douglass Park, Lakeview, Simonsdale, Victory and Waterview.

Elementary tier B schools will attend school from 9:15 a.m. to 4 p.m. Those schools include Brighton, Churchland Elementary, Cradock, Hodges Manor, Park View and Westhaven.

Douglass Park Elementary School will be fully on the Elementary A schedule and no longer use middle school hours, as had been done in the past.

Also, all preschool centers, including Churchland, Mt. Hermon and Olive Branch, will be on the Elementary A tier.

Middle and high school tiers will not change.

The school division said the changes to the schedule would not begin until the start of the next school year.