NYC school calendar for 2026-27: Days off and ideas for parents

New York City public schools close their doors on 30 weekdays this year outside of summer, plus a June clerical day for younger kids, and not one of those days lines up neatly with a working parent's calendar. Some are single Mondays. Some are full weeks. One of them, Election Day, isn't a day off at all anymore.

We're Sheridan Fencing Academy, and we run clubs on the Upper East Side at 1801 First Avenue and in Forest Hills at 106-06 Queens Boulevard. Below is every NYC public school day off for 2026-27, pulled from the official NYC Public Schools calendar, and the programs in both neighborhoods that actually run on those days. No sponsorships—just the programs we'd point a friend toward.

The 2026-27 NYC school days off

Date	Day	Holiday or break	Schools
September 21	Monday	Yom Kippur	Closed
October 12	Monday	Italian Heritage Day / Indigenous Peoples' Day	Closed
November 3	Tuesday	Election DayKids are home but logged in for class	Remote learning
November 11	Wednesday	Veterans Day	Closed
November 26 to 27	Thursday to Friday	Thanksgiving recess	Closed
December 24 to January 1	Thursday to Friday	Winter recessSchool resumes Monday, January 4	Closed
January 18	Monday	Martin Luther King Jr. Day	Closed
February 15 to 19	Monday to Friday	Midwinter recess	Closed
March 9	Tuesday	Eid al-Fitr	Closed
March 26	Friday	Good Friday	Closed
April 22 to 30	Thursday to Friday	Spring recess	Closed
May 17	Monday	Eid al-Adha	Closed
May 31	Monday	Memorial Day	Closed
June 8	Tuesday	Clerical day	Elementary and middle off
June 10	Thursday	Anniversary Day	Closed
June 28	Monday	Last day of school	Last day

Source: NYC Public Schools 2026-27 calendar. Highlighted rows differ from a typical day off.

Watch the half days too. Schools dismiss three hours early on these dates.

• Elementary schools on November 5 and March 3

• Middle schools on November 12 and March 4

• High schools on November 20 and March 19

Three holidays that closed schools in past years fall on weekends in 2026-27.

• Diwali is Sunday, November 8

• Lunar New Year is Saturday, February 6

• Juneteenth is Saturday, June 19

If your child is at an independent school, your calendar is probably different. Many Upper East Side independents break from around December 18 through January 4 and take a two-week March break, which is why you'll see several camps below running dates the public schools don't need.

Single days off in the fall (October 12 and November 11)

The fall is where the one-off Mondays and Wednesdays pile up, and it's the easiest stretch to plan for. Most neighborhood camps treat these as standalone "school's out" days you book one at a time.

Upper East Side

Asphalt Green Play Days. The multi-sport default for the neighborhood, at 555 East 90th Street. Play Days run 8:45 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. for ages 4 to 12 at $190 a day, and the 2026-27 schedule covers October 12, November 11, January 18, March 9, May 17, and June 10. Kids get sports and swimming on a full city block, so it's the one that sends them home tired. Register through Asphalt Green.

NORY Holiday STEM Camps. Hands-on building, engineering, and coding for ages 3 to 12, run out of Park Avenue Christian Church at 1010 Park Avenue and 85th Street. Full days run 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at $178, with a $128 half day for 3- and 4-year-olds. NORY's calendar is unusually complete, covering nearly every single-day closure on the DOE list, the days around Thanksgiving, and even Memorial Day. See NORY's camp page.

Central Park Zoo School Break Camps. Animals, keepers, and a day outside for grades 1 to 5, at the zoo's Fifth Avenue and 64th Street entrance. One-day camps run 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at $200, or $180 for members, on October 12, November 11, January 18, March 9, and May 17. It's the pick for the kid who'd rather be outdoors in November than in a gym. Details at centralparkzoo.com.

NYC Elite Gymnastics. The School's Out Camp at 421 East 91st Street runs half and full days on school holidays, and children just need to be potty-trained to join. It's a strong fit for younger kids who need a big room to burn off energy. Pricing isn't posted online, so call 212-289-8737 or check nycelite.com.

The Fashion Class. Sewing and design for ages 6 to 12 at 307 East 84th Street, capped at 12 kids with a 1:6 ratio. Holiday days run 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at $175, with extended hours from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and supplies are included. Camps need four campers to run, so book early. See The Fashion Class.

Sheridan Fencing Academy. This is us. Our philosophy is that good training is fun training, and a day off is the best possible time to prove it. The club at 1801 First Avenue is one block from the Q at 96th Street and the M96, with six full-length strips and all the equipment waiting. We run school-break camps at the Upper East Side club, and we post holiday camp dates on our Manhattan camps page as they're scheduled.

A camp day mixes real fencing with games and movement, and nobody needs any experience to start. If your kid likes it, our after-school classes run all year. You can book a free trial class or look at all our fencing programs and schedules.

Why we like it: Bias acknowledged. Every kid who walks in on a day off starts from zero, because almost nobody fences at recess. That makes it an unusually easy room to join for a single day.

Forest Hills

Commonpoint Queens Youth Holiday Program. The best value in either neighborhood, at 67-09 108th Street. Days run 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.—a real working-parent day—at $85 for in-house days and $105 for trip days, with snacks provided. Commonpoint's posted schedule covers October 12 and November 11, along with most of the winter, midwinter, and spring breaks. Registration opens month by month through Commonpoint.

Queens Zoo School Break Camps. Kindergarten through fifth grade, at 53-51 111th Street in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, a straight shot up 108th Street on the Q23. One-day camps run 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at $150, or $120 for members, on October 12, November 11, January 18, March 9, March 26, and May 17. Details at queenszoo.com.

Sheridan Fencing Academy. Our Forest Hills club is on the fourth floor of the Forest Hills Jewish Center at 106-06 Queens Boulevard, entrance on 69th Road, two blocks from the E, F, M, and R at 71st–Continental. Classes and school-break camps are listed on our Queens camps page, and our free trial class is the easiest way to find out whether fencing clicks.

New York Hall of Science. A drop-in rather than a camp, at 47-01 111th Street. NYSCI is open Wednesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., which makes Veterans Day on a Wednesday a perfect fit, and kids' tickets are $19. It's closed Mondays and Tuesdays, so skip it on October 12. Plan at nysci.org.

Thanksgiving (November 26 to 27)

Thanksgiving Thursday is a family day and almost nothing runs. Friday is the real childcare problem, and it's thinner than you'd think.

• NORY Holiday STEM Camps runs Wednesday, November 25, and Friday, November 27, so it covers the day before the holiday and the Friday after.

• The Fashion Class runs on November 25.

• The Charles A. Dana Discovery Center at the top of Central Park at 110th Street is the free option on the Friday. It lends out Discovery Kits with binoculars, hand lenses, and wildlife guides from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Friday through Sunday only, which lands neatly on November 27.

• NYSCI in Queens is open on the Friday.

The Queens Public Library's Forest Hills branch is closed both days.

Winter recess (December 24 to January 1)

Winter recess is the stretch where planning pays off most, because two holidays sit inside it and a lot of programs close for both. Public school families need December 24 and December 28 to 31. Independent school families usually need the week before that too.

Upper East Side

Fastbreak Sports covers the full stretch from December 21 to 31 across its sites at 1629 and 1621 First Avenue and 1157 Lexington Avenue. Kids 6 to 12 get a 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. day of multi-sport play, with separate formats for ages 3 to 6, and a Jr. Knicks basketball option for ages 7 to 12. Prices appear inside the registration link at fastbreaksports.com.

• NORY runs December 21 to 24 and December 28 to 31, which makes it one of very few camps open on Christmas Eve.

• Asphalt Green Play Days runs by the day on December 21 to 23 and December 28 to 30 at $190, but not on December 24 or 31.

• The Fashion Class runs December 21 to 23 and December 28 to 30.

Sheridan Fencing Academy posts winter break camp dates for the Upper East Side on our Manhattan camps page.

Forest Hills

Commonpoint Queens runs December 28 to 30 and December 31 with an early dismissal, still at $85 a day. New York Chess Academy at 70-35 112th Street, five minutes from the 71st Avenue station, runs holiday camp for ages 4 to 13 on December 24 and December 28 to 31. Full days run 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at $95, or $450 for a week, and half days are $55. See newyorkchessacademy.us.

Sheridan Fencing Academy's Forest Hills winter camp dates, when scheduled, go up on the Queens camps page.

Single days off from January to May

The second half of the year brings a run of single days, and the same camps that covered the fall mostly return. The key differences are Good Friday, which fewer camps cover, and Memorial Day, which almost none do.

The dates are January 18, March 9, March 26, May 17, and May 31.

On the Upper East Side:

• Asphalt Green Play Days runs January 18, March 9, and May 17

• Central Park Zoo runs January 18, March 9, and May 17

• NYC Elite Gymnastics runs MLK Day and both Eid holidays

• NORY runs all of them, including Memorial Day on May 31

In Forest Hills:

• Queens Zoo runs January 18, March 9, March 26, and May 17

• Commonpoint Queens covers March 9, March 26, and May 17, plus June 8 and June 10, the two June days that catch families off guard

For Good Friday, the Dana Discovery Center is open (it's a Friday), and in Queens, NYSCI is open too.

Midwinter recess (February 15 to 19)

Midwinter is a full five-day week and the one most parents book first. Almost every camp on this list runs it, so the question is fit rather than availability.

Upper East Side

• Asphalt Green Play Days runs the full week for $875

• Central Park Zoo runs a week-long camp for grades 1 to 5 at $675, or $608 for members

• NORY and Fastbreak Sports both run February 15 to 19

Sheridan Fencing Academy posts midwinter camp dates on the Manhattan camps page.

Forest Hills

• Commonpoint Queens runs the full midwinter week

• Queens Zoo runs a week-long camp for kindergarten to fifth grade at $550, or $440 for members

• New York Chess Academy ran its midwinter camp last year and sold out its final two days, so book early when 2027 dates post

The West Side Tennis Club at 1 Tennis Place has run junior mini camps during February and April breaks. It's a membership club, so call 718-268-2300 to ask whether non-members can join before you plan around it.

Spring recess (April 22 to 30)

Spring recess starts on a Thursday this year, which splits it into two short days and one full week. Some camps sell the two days separately.

On the Upper East Side:

• Asphalt Green Play Days sells April 22 to 23 for $380 and April 26 to 30 for $875

• NORY, Fastbreak Sports, and The Fashion Class all run April 22 to 30

• Central Park Zoo runs a spring camp the following week

In Forest Hills, Commonpoint Queens and Queens Zoo both run April 26 to 30. For April 22 and 23, NYSCI is open on Thursday and Friday and Forest Park is always open. Its 1.75-mile Blue Trail and the Orange Trail's century-old pine grove are the best free afternoon in the neighborhood.

Free options for any day off

Not every day off needs a camp.

• Carl Schurz Park along East End Avenue from 84th to 90th Street is the Upper East Side's riverside backyard

• The Met lets children under 12 in free

• Forest Park in Forest Hills covers 543 acres with marked trails, Strack Pond, and a historic carousel

• The Queens Public Library's Forest Hills branch at 108-19 71st Avenue is free and open through most of the recess weeks, but it closes on October 12, November 11, Thanksgiving, December 25 and 26, and January 1

Frequently asked questions

Is Election Day a day off for NYC public schools in 2026?

No. November 3, 2026, is a remote instruction day for all NYC public school students, so kids are home but expected to log on.

When is winter break for NYC public schools in 2026-27?

Winter recess runs Thursday, December 24, 2026, through Friday, January 1, 2027, and school resumes Monday, January 4.

When is midwinter recess in 2027?

Midwinter recess runs Monday, February 15, through Friday, February 19, 2027. It's the most heavily booked camp week of the school year.

Are NYC schools closed for Lunar New Year or Diwali this year?

No. Both holidays fall on weekends in 2026-27, with Diwali on Sunday, November 8, and Lunar New Year on Saturday, February 6.

What's the cheapest full-day option on a school day off?

Commonpoint Queens' Youth Holiday Program in Forest Hills runs 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. for $85 a day. On the Upper East Side, most full-day holiday camps run $175 to $200 a day.

Do private school breaks match the public school calendar?

No. Many independent schools start winter break around December 18 and take a two-week March break, which is why several Upper East Side camps also run December 21 to 23 and March 15 to 26.

One final thought

The days off that trip families up are rarely the big weeks. Midwinter and spring recess get planned in January. It's the Wednesday Veterans Day, the Friday after Thanksgiving, and the June days nobody remembers until the week before that send parents scrambling.

Put the whole list in your calendar now, book the single days as soon as camps open registration, and keep one free option in your back pocket for the day everything's full.

If you'd like to see whether fencing belongs on that list, we offer free trial classes for kids at our Upper East Side location and in Forest Hills. No commitment, no sales pitch—just a class to find out if it clicks. For the rest of the week, our guide to the best after-school activities on the Upper East Side covers the programs that run once school lets out.