The GCISD Instructional Calendar for the 2026-2027 school year was approved by the Board of Trustees at its December 15 Regular Meeting. GCISD’s first day of school will be Wednesday, August 12, 2026.
A few holidays and important dates on the calendar include:
District holidays are on September 7, 2026, January 18, 2027, and May 31, 2027
School holidays are on October 12-13, 2026, November 2, 2026, February 15, 2027, March 26, 2027, and April 30, 2027
Five professional development days (no school for students) are scheduled for September 21, 2026, November 3, 2026, January 4-5, 2027, and February 12, 2027
Instructional planning days (no school for students) are scheduled for October 9, 2026, and March 12, 2027
Thanksgiving Break runs November 23-27, 2026
Winter Break runs December 18, 2026 - January 1, 2027
Spring Break runs March 15-19, 2027
The last day of school is on Thursday, May 27, 2027
The primary updates to the instructional calendar for GCISD include the following:
An early release day was added to Thursday, October 8, 2026, for elementary only to facilitate dedicated parent-teacher conferences. These minutes are balanced with an early release day for secondary only on May 26, 2027.
An additional school holiday was added to October. For next school year, Friday, October 9, 2026, will be an instructional planning day for staff, followed by school holidays Monday-Tuesday, October 12-13, 2026. This provides students with a five-day break and a staff with a four-day weekend after their planning session.
Election Day, Tuesday, November 3, is designated as a professional development day for staff to address the safety and logistical challenges posed by schools serving as polling places. The day prior, Monday, November 2, is a school holiday.
A school holiday was added to this year’s calendar to strategically break up the long instructional period between Easter weekend (March 28, 2027) and the end of the school year. Careful consideration was given to avoid conflicts with critical academic windows, including STAAR and AP testing schedules, as well as campus-specific activities.
The calendar meets the minimum 75,600 instructional minutes required for students, includes the contract length required for staff and meets other parameters set by the Texas Education Agency, including state assessment dates. The presented calendar was developed following review and input sessions with the District Leadership Team, campus leadership, campus team leads, and the District Excellence Committee.
*Now that the GCISD Instructional Calendar has been approved, iUniversity Prep and Collegiate Academy will develop calendars specialized to the specifications of their programs, and those will be shared with their students and families.
Click here to download the 2026-2027 Instructional Calendar.