Returning from spring break, students and staff mourn the free time they once had. Concentration flies out the window when irritating fluorescent lights replace bright skies, and everyone’s brains function about as well as a laggy school laptop that was left untouched since break started.
Entering the “home stretch,” some students are eager for summer to sweep them away. Seniors quietly count down to their last day on May 19th. Like previous years, all other grades must be thrilled to leave shortly after the seniors do, before Memorial Day.
However, this year holds an unexpected surprise. For the 2025-26 school year, the last day of school is on May 28th, three days after Memorial Day, which is on May 25th. Compared to last year’s calendar, students were out on May 23rd, with Memorial Day being on the 26th.
People claim that it feels ridiculous to be out after Memorial Day and ask why it can’t be the same as previous years, when school was out before the holiday. Let’s be real—going from ending school three days before Memorial Day to three days after? Why don’t we get it over with? Is it really worth cramming in the extra three days?
A fair share of students have expressed discontent with the decision. One of many complaints include plans abruptly put on pause, such as ones arranged for Memorial Day week. Overall, students are irritated with putting summer vacation on hold.
On the contrary, some students hardly mind the pushback and act as if nothing changed. For them, they’re patiently waiting for school to wrap up, no matter what day it ends on.
Before we snatch up our pitchforks and light our torches, though, we should take a moment to understand why our last day is after Memorial Day. Some people argue that it should be on the same day as last year, May 23rd.
However, the school administration has affirmed that the district calendar committee has a logical reason for the last day’s unusual date. It’s not as simple as picking one day, like May 23rd, and setting it as the official last day for all the following school years.
The school calendar is composed of 176 school days and is split between two semesters, which is why the district tries to go for 85 days first semester and 90 days second semester. This is the time required by the state Department of Education.
According to the administration, the biggest factor this year that’s different than most years is that we’re coming back after Memorial Day. This is due to the fact that the holiday is earlier than it normally is. Consequently, in order to get the number of days that we need for second semester, we must return after Memorial Day.
Similarly, this reasoning applies to the placement of the first day of school. In the 2024-25 school year, the first day of school was on August 9th, whereas our first day this year was on August 13th. Therefore, because our starting date is later than last year, we are getting out later.
As students, it is more than fair to be upset about this. To us, we value summer break because it gives time to de-stress and enjoy our youth when we aren’t buried under mountains of work.
When we return after Memorial Day, we shouldn’t be surprised to see people sluggishly dragging themselves through the doors with the light completely drained from their eyes. Imagine how soul-crushing it is waking up after Memorial Day and remembering, “Shoot, it’s not over yet?”
Why do some students feel conflicted? There are plenty of reasons: to name one, we feel robbed of a summer that could’ve started earlier—plans, jobs, and vacations, all pushed back just to stay a little longer. Even if the amount of total school days is technically unaffected, the idea that we’ll still be here in late May feels discouraging.
Moreover, students will lose motivation because it seems like break is farther away. The closer we get to the end of the school year, the faster energy and effort plummets. People simply want to get their exams and work over with so they can go and skip merrily out of the school, totally stress-free (not totally, but temporarily).
It makes sense that this is necessary to fulfill the time requirement for school. Nonetheless, it doesn’t make it less frustrating for those who are clawing at the walls and waiting for summer break.
How many more energy drinks can we stomach? How many more hours of sleep can we lose? When will we see the sun again? We’ll have to find out. Unfortunately, what more can we do but wait?