Academic year

An academic year or school year is a period that schools, colleges and universities use to measure the quantity of study that are often divided into academic terms.^[1] During this period, students attend classes and do relevant exams and homework. It comprises school days and school holidays. Duration of school days, holidays and school year vary across the world.

"Christmas vacation" redirects here. For the film, see National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.

Terminology[edit]

School days[edit]

A "school day" is a day when school is open. Governments often legislate on the total number of school days in a year for government funded, i.e., not private.^[2]

School holidays[edit]

School holidays (also referred to as vacations, breaks, and recess) are the periods during which schools are closed or no classes or other mandatory activities are held.^[3] The dates and periods of school holidays vary considerably throughout the world, and there is usually some variation even within the same jurisdiction.^[4] The holidays given below apply to primary and secondary education. Teaching sessions (terms or semesters) in tertiary education are usually longer.

Common practices and effects[edit]

Traffic congestion and heavy passenger loads on public transport on school run routes may be worse on school days during term time.^[7]

Summer holidays for most children are a time to relax, enjoy themselves, catch up on studies, or spend time with family or relatives. Many families travel together on school holidays. School holidays have many effects on a country, ranging from the price of travel and holiday accommodation, which increase as demand increases while children are off school, to a change in crime rate.^[8] The number of families taking holidays away from urban areas can reduce traffic and use of public transport in cities while loading long-distance highways and means of transport.

In some countries where many families travel to their holiday destinations, such as the Netherlands, the start and end dates of school holidays in different regions are staggered to reduce the heavy traffic and pressure on means of transport that would otherwise occur on these dates.^[9]

/Fall Holiday or Break – Occurs at the end of November. This holiday usually consists of the week of Thanksgiving – the day before Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving Day, and the day after. Some areas have the Monday and Tuesday of the Thanksgiving week as regular days and take Wednesday as an early dismissal day; with Thanksgiving and the day after off. Other schools take the whole week off and have an early release on the Friday before the break. US Thanksgiving is on the fourth Thursday of November (occurs between November 22 and November 28), while Black Friday is on Friday after fourth Thursday of November (occurs between November 23 and November 29).

Thanksgiving

or Winter Break – Varies in length per school; usually starts at the third Saturday in December and ends a day or two after New Year's Day (sometimes the first Monday after the New Year's Day), unless New Year's Day falls on a Sunday in which case the first Monday (January 2) is the official holiday and schools may not begin until January 3; the most recent occurrence of this was in the 2022-23 holiday break when January 1, 2023 fell on a Sunday.

Christmas

– Martin Luther King Day is always on the third Monday of January each year. Some students have a full or half-day Friday and have the weekend, Martin Luther King day, and sometimes the subsequent Tuesday off.

Martin Luther King Day

Spring or Break – Usually lasts for one or two weeks in March or April

Easter

or Indigenous Peoples' Day Break – Columbus Day is always the second Monday in October. Many schools take a week off, though some areas only take Columbus Day itself off. In many states, however, Columbus Day is not observed as a school holiday at all. Also called Indigenous Peoples' Day.

Columbus Day

October Break – Usually lasts for one week in October (in the week of Columbus Day). See Columbus Day above.

Mid-Winter or February Break – One week in February (usually at or around ) or March (depending on the region).

President's Day

Spring Vacation or Break – See Easter Break above.

Summer Vacation or Break – Lasts for about 11–16 weeks, starting anywhere from late May to late , and ending anywhere from late August to the day after Labor Day in early September. This often depends on the region – for example, most schools in the Northeastern United States end in June and start just after Labor Day, while the majority of schools in the Southern and Southwestern U.S. have school years end in late May and begin in early August.

June

Teacher's Day Off – Exists in some school districts, being two to three days at any time in school calendar

– Scheduled breaks for teachers to participate in in-season training or discussions, or to attend the state or national conventions held by a teacher's union.

Inservice day(s)

All federal and state holidays – That includes religious holidays, such as , and sometimes Jewish and Islamic holidays, depending on school demographic.