MMSD Calendar 2026-27: Winter Break Dec. 21 to Jan. 1

The Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD) 2026-27 calendar lists winter break from Monday, Dec. 21, 2026 through Thursday, Dec. 31 and Friday, Jan. 1, 2027, spring break from Monday through Friday, March 22-26, 2027, and a last day of school on Thursday, June 10, 2027, according to the district’s “2026-2027 School Year Calendar” page. School resumes Monday, Jan. 4. The page calls these the dates “confirmed thus far” and says “The full calendar of dates will be released at a later time.” Tables below split the days off for all students from the ones that apply to one level, and compare the breaks with 2025-26.

The printable school-year calendar at the bottom of the page puts the district’s dates on one sheet.

MMSD breaks at a glance

The district’s wording for each break is in the first column. Return days are our reading: the district prints “School Resumes” for Jan. 4 only, and the other return days are the next weekday it does not list as a no-school day.

Break	District’s dates	Weekdays off	Students return
Mid-Fall Break	Fri., Oct. 16, 2026	1	Mon., Oct. 19
Fall Break	Wed.-Fri., Nov. 25-27, 2026, then Mon., Nov. 30 (staff only day)	4	Tue., Dec. 1
Winter Break	Mon., Dec. 21 to Thu., Dec. 31, 2026, and Fri., Jan. 1, 2027	10	Mon., Jan. 4, 2027
Spring Break	Mon.-Fri., March 22-26, 2027	5	Mon., March 29, 2027

The district does not call Nov. 25-27 Thanksgiving break. Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, Nov. 26, falls inside Fall Break. With Saturday and Sunday, students are out six days in a row, from Wednesday, Nov. 25 through Monday, Nov. 30.

When does MMSD winter break 2026 start?

Winter break starts Monday, Dec. 21, 2026. The last day before it is Friday, Dec. 18, by our reading, since no earlier day off is listed that week. Counting weekends, students are out from Saturday, Dec. 19 through Sunday, Jan. 3: 16 days. Nine weekdays are the district’s “No School - Winter Break” plus Friday, Jan. 1, which it lists with the break, for 10 weekdays off. The December 2026 printable calendar shows the weeks, and our winter break 2026 roundup lists other districts.

Every MMSD no-school day for all students

These are the days the district lists as “No School” with no level named. Days before the first day of school and the level-specific days are covered after the table.

Date	What the district lists
Mon., Sept. 7, 2026	No School - Labor Day
Fri., Oct. 16, 2026	No School - Mid-Fall Break
Wed.-Fri., Nov. 25-27, 2026	No School - Fall Break
Mon., Nov. 30, 2026	No School (Staff Only Day)
Mon., Dec. 21 to Thu., Dec. 31, 2026, and Fri., Jan. 1, 2027	No School - Winter Break
Mon., Jan. 18, 2027	No School (Martin Luther King Jr. Day)
Fri., Jan. 29, 2027	No School (Staff Grading Day)
Fri., Feb. 19, 2027	No School (Staff Only Day)
Mon.-Fri., March 22-26, 2027	No School - Spring Break
Fri., April 9, 2027	No School (Staff Only Day)
Mon., May 31, 2027	No School (Memorial Day)

Counting these, there are 26 weekdays off for all students between Sept. 1, 2026 and June 10, 2027 (our count, from the district’s dates).

Month	Weekdays off for all students
September 2026	1
October 2026	1
November 2026	4
December 2026	9
January 2027	3
February 2027	1
March 2027	5
April 2027	1
May 2027	1
Total	26

Four of the Fridays and Mondays make three-day weekends: Jan. 18 (Jan. 16-18), Jan. 29 (Jan. 29-31), Feb. 19 (Feb. 19-21) and April 9 (April 9-11). Including weekends, spring break runs from Saturday, March 20 to Sunday, March 28, nine days.

Which MMSD days off apply to one grade level?

The district lists conference and professional learning days for one level at a time, which a single “no school” list hides. These come on top of the days above.

Date	Who has no school	What the district lists
Mon., Sept. 28, 2026	High school	Staff Professional Learning Day
Thu., Oct. 15, 2026	Elementary and high school	Staff-Only Day; middle school in session
Mon., Nov. 2, 2026	Elementary (no 4K/EC either)	Evening elementary conferences
Tue., Nov. 3, 2026	Elementary	Family-Teacher Conferences
Fri., Nov. 6, 2026	High school	Family-Teacher Conferences
Mon., Nov. 9, 2026	High school	Staff Professional Learning Day
Fri., Nov. 20, 2026	Middle school	Family-Teacher Conferences
Thu., Feb. 18, 2027	Middle school	Family-Teacher Conferences
Fri., March 5, 2027	High school	Family-Teacher Conferences
Mon., March 8, 2027	High school	Staff Professional Learning Day
Fri., May 14, 2027	Elementary and high school	Staff-Only Day; middle school in session

By this table, high school students have seven extra days off, elementary students four and middle school students two. Two pairs sit next to a weekend: high school has no school Friday, Nov. 6 through Monday, Nov. 9, and Friday, March 5 through Monday, March 8. Mid-Fall Break on Friday, Oct. 16 follows the Thursday, Oct. 15 staff-only day, so elementary and high school students are out from Thursday, Oct. 15 through Sunday, Oct. 18. “4K” is four-year-old kindergarten and “EC” is Early Childhood. The district lists no early-release days.

When do MMSD quarters and semesters end?

Date	What the district lists
Wed., Nov. 4, 2026	End of 1st Quarter
Thu., Jan. 28, 2027	End of 2nd Quarter, End of 1st Semester
Mon., Feb. 1, 2027	Beginning of 3rd Quarter, Beginning of 2nd Semester
Thu., April 8, 2027	End of 3rd Quarter
Mon., April 12, 2027	Beginning of 4th Quarter
Thu., June 10, 2027	End of 4th Quarter, End of 2nd Semester

Friday, Jan. 29 is a staff grading day between the semesters, so the first semester ends Thursday and students are back Monday, Feb. 1.

When does the MMSD school year start?

The district lists staff days first: New Educator Days Aug. 19-21, Staff Welcome Back/Professional Development Days Aug. 25-28 and a Staff Voluntary Day on Aug. 31. Students start in two steps. Tuesday, Sept. 1 is the “First Day for 4K, K, 6, 9 and Early Childhood (EC)”, and on Wednesday, Sept. 2 all students attend a regular schedule.

How does MMSD 2026-27 compare with 2025-26?

The district’s 2025-2026 calendar gives last year’s dates for the same breaks.

Break	2025-26 (last year)	2026-27
Mid-Fall Break	Fri., Oct. 17, 2025	Fri., Oct. 16, 2026
Fall Break	Wed.-Fri., Nov. 26-28, 2025	Wed.-Fri., Nov. 25-27, 2026
Winter Break	Mon., Dec. 22 to Wed., Dec. 31, 2025, and Thu.-Fri., Jan. 1-2, 2026	Mon., Dec. 21 to Thu., Dec. 31, 2026, and Fri., Jan. 1, 2027
School resumes	Mon., Jan. 5, 2026	Mon., Jan. 4, 2027
Spring Break	Mon.-Fri., March 23-27, 2026	Mon.-Fri., March 22-26, 2027
Last day	Wed., June 10, 2026	Thu., June 10, 2027

Each 2026-27 break starts one day earlier on the calendar than last year’s, and the last day is again June 10. Winter break is 10 weekdays off both years. Other districts’ Thanksgiving dates are in our Thanksgiving break 2026 roundup, and the March 2027 printable calendar shows spring break. Chicago’s dates are in our Chicago Public Schools calendar story.

When are MMSD graduations in 2027?

Date	Graduation
Fri., June 4, 2027	East and La Follette High Schools
Sat., June 5, 2027	Memorial and West High Schools

Shabazz, Innovative and Capital graduation dates are listed as “to be determined (TBD)”. The last day of school is Thursday, June 10, 2027, and Friday, June 11 is a staff only day.

What the MMSD page does not say yet

The district page has no date and gives no board approval date, so this story does not state one. A printable district PDF is not listed, and the full calendar of dates is still to come. Check the district page before booking travel.

Print the MMSD calendar

The printable shows the first days, Mid-Fall Break, Fall Break, winter break, spring break, the all-student no-school days and the last day on a 10-month sheet from September 2026 to June 2027, with space to write in conferences. Level-specific days are in the table above and are left off the sheet.