The largest New York winter-break group has December 24, 2026–January 3, 2027 off, with school resuming Monday, January 4. That window appears in 100 of 148 official calendar options across 147 districts. Every included option resumes January 4; the difference is how early students finish in December.

District names link to their full 2026–2027 calendars. School and grade labels show which students each entry covers.

New York winter break dates by district

40 options begin the continuous break on December 23, and 8 begin December 19. NYC, Buffalo and Yonkers use December 24; Rochester and Utica begin December 23. This article covers the December–January holiday, separately from February's Midwinter Recess.

New York: 2026–2027 winter-break patterns (calendar options)
Continuous days offResumesOptions
Dec 24–Jan 3Jan 4100
Dec 23–Jan 3Jan 440
Dec 19–Jan 3Jan 48

Major school districts: December closure and January return

Rochester and Utica provide one additional full day off before Christmas compared with NYC. Greater Amsterdam publishes elementary and secondary calendars; both share this winter closure and are listed separately in the complete directory.

Major New York districts — 2026–2027
District / calendarContinuous days offDaysSchool resumes
NYC Public Schools (DOE)Dec 24–Jan 311Jan 4
Buffalo Public SchoolsDec 24–Jan 311Jan 4
Rochester City School DistrictDec 23–Jan 312Jan 4
Yonkers Public SchoolsDec 24–Jan 311Jan 4
Syracuse City School DistrictDec 24–Jan 311Jan 4
City School District of AlbanyDec 24–Jan 311Jan 4
Schenectady City School DistrictDec 24–Jan 311Jan 4
Utica City School DistrictDec 23–Jan 312Jan 4
White Plains City School DistrictDec 24–Jan 311Jan 4
North Syracuse Central School DistrictDec 24–Jan 311Jan 4
Greater Amsterdam School DistrictGASD Elementary SchoolDec 24–Jan 311Jan 4
West Genesee Central School DistrictDec 23–Jan 312Jan 4

Districts with the full pre-Christmas week off

These 8 calendars begin their continuous break on December 19. Their students are off throughout December 21–23, while the January 4 return remains the same as the larger December 24 group.

Districts with the full pre-Christmas week off
District / calendarContinuous days offDaysSchool resumes
Central Islip Union Free School DistrictDec 19–Jan 316Jan 4
Freeport Union Free School DistrictDec 19–Jan 316Jan 4
Patchogue-Medford Union Free School DistrictDec 19–Jan 316Jan 4
Port Chester-Rye Union Free School DistrictDec 19–Jan 316Jan 4
Potsdam Central School DistrictDec 19–Jan 316Jan 4
Riverhead Central School DistrictDec 19–Jan 316Jan 4
Scarsdale Union Free School DistrictDec 19–Jan 316Jan 4
Three Village Central School DistrictDec 19–Jan 316Jan 4

For a household coordinating NYC and Rochester, December 23 is a school day in the NYC schedule and a full day off in Rochester. For districts in the table above, care or adult time off can begin on Monday, December 21.

Coverage and date definitions

This comparison covers 147 districts and 148 school or grade-level calendars. It uses the official 2026–2027 calendars listed in Sources, reviewed September 24, 2026. Draft calendars and schedules without enough evidence to establish the full break are omitted.

Days off include adjoining weekends, full student holidays and confirmed non-school weekdays in four-day schedules. Half days and remote instruction count as school days. Return dates use the calendar’s explicit return entry or the next scheduled instructional day after the student closure.

Related: the full NYC DOE 2026–2027 calendar breakdown.

Find your district

Search the directory by district, school or calendar name.

148 calendar entries across 147 districts.

All 148 calendar entries — 147 districts

Districts A

Districts B

Districts C

Districts D

Districts E

Districts F

Districts G

Districts H

Districts I

Districts J

Districts K

Districts L

Districts M

Districts N

Districts O

Districts P

Districts R

Districts S

Districts T

Districts U

Districts V

Districts W

Districts Y

Sources

Official sources for the included calendars