December inside the 2020-2021 Academic Year
December 2020 is the 5th month of the 2020-2021 Academic Year on the standard American August-to-July school cycle. It belongs to the Fall 2020 semester — the term that runs from August 24 through December 18, 2020 on the published 2020-2021 Academic Year structure. Within the school year, this month plays a specific role: fall finals, the start of winter break, and Christmas Day — the academic year's longest closure begins.
For families, teachers, and registrars planning the 2020-2021 Academic Year, December is one of the five months of the fall semester and is best printed alongside the surrounding months on the year-at-a-glance overview for context. The federal holidays that occur in December 2020 are shaded in amber on the printable grid above; district-specific closures and inservice days vary, so confirm with your local published calendar before relying on the dates for travel or testing planning.
Federal holidays and observances in December 2020
- Christmas Day — Friday, December 25, 2020. Observed federally per 5 U.S.C. § 6103.
Common school observances this month include Christmas Eve on Dec 24 , and New Year's Eve on Dec 31 . These are widely recognized in US K–12 districts but are not federal closures.
Where this month fits the school-year arc
The Fall 2020 semester opens on Monday, August 24 and closes on Friday, December 18, 2020, with finals beginning December 14. December 2020 sits at the close of the semester, with finals and the transition into break. Use the Fall 2020 printable layout to print every month of this semester back-to-back; use the two-semester view to see the fall and spring terms side by side.
Grade-band views of December 2020
- Elementary K–5 view of the Fall 2020 semester — class parties, conferences, and reading milestones.
- Middle school 6–8 view — athletics seasons, state testing windows, and 6–8 transition events.
- High school 9–12 view — AP exams, SAT/ACT national dates, and college admissions deadlines.
Printable layouts of December 2020
Three printable layouts are available for December 2020: the portrait Sunday-start layout (the default, best for K–12 family fridges), the landscape layout (wider day cells suited to writing assignments), and the Monday-start layout (international or business calendars). All three print cleanly on US Letter (8.5 × 11 in) and ISO A4 (210 × 297 mm) paper at 100% scale, with no scaling or fitting required.
How to use this page
Use the calendar above to anchor a single month of planning inside the 2020-2021 Academic Year: print it as-is for a fridge or binder, or click any of the layouts linked above for a print-optimized variant. The federal holiday shading uses a soft amber that prints crisply on both color and grayscale printers; observance shading is a lighter wheat tone that can be used or ignored without affecting readability. For a full school-year reference, return to the 2020-2021 Academic Year overview.