Fall Break for the 2023–2024 school year
Most US districts schedule fall break for one to three weekdays in the second or third week of October. Many districts pair the closure with the federal Columbus Day / Indigenous Peoples' Day holiday on the second Monday of October to create a four- or five-day weekend; others use the days for staff professional development without the federal-holiday anchor.
Fall break is most common in the South, the Mountain West, and parts of the Midwest. Northeastern and West Coast districts more often skip a separate fall break and rely on the Columbus Day federal holiday alone. Fall break is the only major recess between Labor Day and Thanksgiving, so it tends to be the lowest-cost weekend for family travel and the most common professional-development window for teachers.
Likely date range this year
For the 2023–2024 school year, the Fall Break window most commonly falls between Monday, October 9 and Wednesday, October 11, 2023. The exact dates vary by district; this range reflects the typical national pattern, with the federal holidays inside the window pre-shaded on the printable monthly grids below.
Federal holidays inside the window
- Columbus Day — federal holiday observed during this break window in most years.
Printing tips for letter-size paper
To plan the Fall Break window, print the October monthly calendars in portrait orientation on US Letter paper at 100% scale. The federal holidays in the window will be shaded amber; mark your district's actual closure days by hand or open the Fall Break planning grid for an editable PDF-friendly layout. The grid is tuned for both color and grayscale printers.
Notes for Middle School (6–8) families
Middle school calendars on PrintCalendars place athletic seasons alongside academic milestones so families can plan around game nights, away tournaments, and the spring testing crunch.
During the Fall Break window, sixth- through eighth-grade students, families, and middle-school staff typically use the recess to catch up on assignments before midterms, host short family trips, and run teacher professional-development days that fall on the same week.