School start dates for Champaign-Urbana area school districts
Mark your calendars for the first day of the 2023-24 school year!
Why is it important for the public to know school start dates? For one thing, the start of school also means the time when drivers need to be extra careful on the roads, with many more children out and about, walking and biking to school. And it’s also when yellow buses return to our streets, which may disrupt some traffic patterns that we’ve come to forget about during the summer.
This article contains a listing of public school district start dates for communities in the Champaign County area, including Champaign, Urbana, Mahomet, Monticello, Fisher, St. Joseph, Rantoul and more.
Thank you to Christie Clinic for presenting our 2023 Champaign-Urbana Area Back to School series
Christie Clinic wants you to give your kids a healthy start to the school year. Parents can currently make back-to-school appointments for their children through their patient portal or by using online scheduling at christieclinic.com.
This summer, the Christie Clinic Department of Pediatrics at Christie Clinic in Champaign on Windsor is offering Saturday physicals. Call your provider for availability and scheduling.
Check out our entire Back to School Series, presented by Christie Clinic:
- Ask the Doctor: Adjusting to Back to School
- Back to School: 8 Things You Didn’t Know You Needed
- Back to School: 9 Tips for Ninth Graders
- Save Money on Back to School in Champaign-Urbana: Free Supplies, Backpacks, Haircuts and Health Screenings
- Champaign-Urbana Area School Registration Information for 2023-24
- Champaign-Urbana Area School Start Dates
- Back to School: Dental, Vision Exams Required for Illinois Students
- School Physicals: What’s Required for Illinois Students in 2023
- Back to School: Immunizations Required for Illinois Students
School Start Dates have been collected using information provided by school districts’ websites. Please contact the schools directly with questions.
Champaign and Urbana appear first; all other districts appear below them in alphabetical order.
The school start date listed is the first day of attendance for the vast majority of students in that district; kindergarten students often start on a different day and there may be other exceptions.
Champaign Unit 4
Monday, Aug. 14: First regular day of school for grades 1-6 and grade 9, kindergarten students have parent teacher conferences
Tuesday, Aug. 15: Regular day of attendance for grades 1-12. Half of kindergarten is attendance, with the other half attending Wednesday and all students attending Thursday.
Urbana School District 116
Wednesday, Aug. 16: First day for student attendance for grades 1-5 (elementary), grade 6 (middle school) and grade 9 (high school). Half of kindergarten in attendance.
Thursday, Aug. 17: All grades 1-12 in attendance; other half of kindergarten in attendance.
Friday, Aug. 18: First day for Urbana Early Childhood.
Fisher CUSD 1
Tuesday, Aug. 17: 2:05 p.m. dismissal, all schools
Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley
Tuesday, Aug. 17: first day of attendance for all students
Gifford Grade School 188
Tuesday, Aug. 15: early dismissal at 11:45 a.m.
Heritage CUSD 8
Wednesday, Aug. 16: early dismissal at 11:15 a.m. (all students grades 1-12)
Friday, Aug. 18: First full day of kindergarten attendance
Mahomet-Seymour CUSD 3
Wednesday, Aug. 16: first day of attendance for all students
Monticello CUSD 25
Wednesday, Aug. 16: first day of attendance for all students.
Paxton-Buckley-Loda
Wednesday, Aug. 16: first day of attendance for all students.
Prairieview-Ogden District 197
Thursday, Aug. 17: first day of attendance for all students, early dismissal at 11:30 a.m.
Rantoul City Schools 137
Wednesday, Aug. 16: first day for all students grades 1-8
Rantoul Township High School 193
Thursday, Aug. 17: first day of attendance for all students
St. Joseph CCSD 169
Thursday, Aug. 17: first day of attendance, half day
St. Joseph-Ogden High School
Thursday, Aug. 17: first day of attendance, half day
Tuscola 301
Monday, Aug 21: first day of attendance
Unit 7 Schools (Tolono, Sidney, Sadorus, Philo, Pesotum)
Thursday, Aug. 17: first day of attendance
University Laboratory High School (Urbana)
Wednesday, Aug 16: first day of attendance
Villa Grove
Thursday, Aug. 17: dismissal at 2 p.m.