Muscogee County students have 130 school days left in the 2026–27 year, counting today, Oct. 16. The next day off is Veterans Day, Wednesday, Nov. 11, followed by a full week off for Thanksgiving, Nov. 23–27. The last day of school is Friday, May 21, 2027.

The Muscogee County School District's calendar has exactly 180 student days, split evenly into two 90-day semesters. With fall break already behind us, here's every remaining day off, break and teacher workday, so Columbus, Ga., families can plan child care, trips and appointments now, before the holidays fill up.

All dates come from the district's official 2026–27 school year calendar. The school board approved it, along with the 2027–28 calendar, in December 2025, the Ledger-Enquirer reported.

Every day off left this school year

That's 26 more weekdays off before summer, counting the two teacher planning days when students stay home.

The breaks, by the numbers

Counting weekends, here's how long each remaining break really is for students:

• Thanksgiving: 9 days in a row, from Saturday, Nov. 21, through Sunday, Nov. 29. Students return Monday, Nov. 30.
• Winter break: 17 days in a row, from Saturday, Dec. 19, through Monday, Jan. 4. The district's calendar shows winter break running Dec. 21 to Jan. 1, and Jan. 4 is a teacher planning day, so students don't return until Tuesday, Jan. 5, when the second semester begins.
• Martin Luther King Jr. weekend: 3 days, Saturday, Jan. 16, through Monday, Jan. 18.
• Mid-winter break: 5 days, Thursday, Feb. 11, through Monday, Feb. 15. Feb. 11 is a teacher planning day, Feb. 12 and Feb. 15 are student and teacher holidays, and the weekend falls in between. Feb. 15 is also Presidents Day.
• Spring break: 9 days, from Saturday, April 3, through Sunday, April 11. Students return Monday, April 12.

Winter break is the longest stretch of the year outside summer. Working parents should plan for 11 weekdays with no school, Dec. 21 through Jan. 4.

Teacher planning days: school's closed for kids

Teacher planning and staff development days are easy to miss, because they look like regular weekdays. On these days, teachers work, but students stay home:

• Monday, Jan. 4, 2027, the day before the second semester starts
• Thursday, Feb. 11, 2027, the start of mid-winter break

Earlier this year, teachers also had planning days July 27–31, before the first day of school, and on Friday, Sept. 25. Two more come after the last day of school, May 24–25, for teacher post-planning.

What about early release days?

The district's 2026–27 calendar doesn't list any early release days. Individual schools sometimes send their own notices for things like conferences, so watch for messages from your child's school, but there are no districtwide early dismissals on the official calendar.

Report cards and progress reports

If you track grades, these are the dates to know:

The first nine weeks already ended Oct. 6, and report cards went home Oct. 13.

When is graduation?

The 2026–27 calendar marks graduation in May 2027 but doesn't give dates yet. The district's calendar shows "???" next to graduation. Each high school's ceremony date is usually announced in the spring, so check with your senior's school.

Month by month: the rest of 2026–27

October 2026: No more days off. Report cards went home Oct. 13 after fall break, Oct. 9–12.

November 2026: Progress reports Nov. 10. No school Wednesday, Nov. 11, for Veterans Day. Thanksgiving break, Nov. 23–27.

December 2026: The first semester's grading period ends Friday, Dec. 18. Winter break starts Monday, Dec. 21, and runs through New Year's.

January 2027: Winter break ends Friday, Jan. 1. Teacher planning day Monday, Jan. 4. The second semester begins Tuesday, Jan. 5. Report cards Jan. 6. No school Monday, Jan. 18, for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

February 2027: Progress reports Feb. 5. Teacher planning day Thursday, Feb. 11, then mid-winter break, Feb. 12–15.

March 2027: No days off. The third nine weeks ends March 12, and report cards go home March 17.

April 2027: Spring break, April 5–9. Progress reports April 21.

May 2027: The last day for students is Friday, May 21. Teacher post-planning days are May 24–25, and Memorial Day is May 31. Summer break officially begins May 26.

How the school days add up

The calendar has 90 student days in each semester, 180 total. That matches the 180-day school year Georgia uses as its standard.

Counting from the first day, Aug. 3, students had finished 50 school days before today, Oct. 16. That leaves:

• 40 days in the first semester, from today through Dec. 18
• 90 days in the second semester, Jan. 5 through May 21
• 130 days in all, counting today

One of the first-semester days already happened online: the calendar marked Thursday, Sept. 24, as a virtual day.

Busy days that are still school days

Some dates feel like holidays but are regular school days on the district calendar:

• Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3: school is in session. Georgia's general election, with the governor's race and three constitutional amendments on the ballot, falls on a normal school day.
• Halloween, Saturday, Oct. 31: it lands on a weekend this year, so there's no school-night trick-or-treating to plan around.
• Valentine's Day, Sunday, Feb. 14: it falls in the middle of mid-winter break, so classroom celebrations will likely happen before the break starts.
• Good Friday, March 26: a regular school day. Spring break isn't tied to Easter this year. It starts April 5, eight days after Easter Sunday, March 28.

How this year compares with last year

Compared with the 2025–26 calendar, also posted on the district's website, the new year shifts a few breaks:

The biggest changes: winter break starts two days earlier, February has one more day off for students, and spring break moves a week later, into April. The last day of school lands on the same date, May 21.

Last year's calendar listed high school graduations on May 20–23, 2026. This year's dates haven't been set on the calendar yet.

Looking ahead: the 2027–28 school year

The board approved next year's calendar at the same time, so families can already plan for 2027–28. It follows a very similar pattern, and it also has 180 student days:

That puts the first day of 2027–28 one day earlier on the calendar than this year's, and the last day two days earlier.

Tips for planning around the calendar

• Book Thanksgiving and spring break travel early. Both are full weeks off, and Columbus families all travel the same weeks.
• Line up child care for teacher planning days now. Jan. 4 and Feb. 11 are the two easiest to forget, and both fall next to a break.
• Put Jan. 5 on the fridge. It's the day students return after winter break, not Jan. 4.
• Check your school's own calendar for events. The district calendar covers days off and grading dates, not school-by-school events like open houses, conferences or picture day.
• This calendar is for Muscogee County public schools. Private schools, charter schools and schools on Fort Benning set their own calendars, so check with them directly.

You can download the district's official calendars at muscogee.k12.ga.us/calendar.