Start dates for Champaign-Urbana area school districts
Mark your calendars for the first day of the 2025-26 school year!
Why is it important for the public to know school start dates? For one thing, you’ll need to know this important date because there are many things to be accomplished before that day arrives! Physicals, dental and eye exams, back-to-school shopping, etc. Looking further ahead, 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 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.
Check out our entire Back to School series, presented by Christie Clinic:
- School Physicals: What’s Required for Illinois Students in 2025
- Champaign-Urbana Area School Start Dates
Thank you to Christie Clinic for presenting our 2025 Champaign-Urbana Area Back to School series
Christie Clinic wants to make sure your child is up to date on required school immunizations before the first day. Parents can schedule back-to-school appointments now at christieclinic.com or on their patient portal.
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School Start Dates have been collected using information provided by school districts’ websites. Schools whose information is not listed have not provided information on their websites noting the first day of school. 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
Tuesday, Aug. 12: First day of school for grades K-6 and grade 9.
Wednesday, Aug. 13: First day of school for grades 7, 8 and high school.
Urbana School District 116
Monday, Aug. 18: First day of school for half of kindergarten students, and grades 1-9.
Tuesday, Aug. 19: All grades 1-12 in attendance; other half of kindergarten in attendance.
Fisher CUSD 1
N/A
Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley
Wednesday, Aug. 20: first day of attendance for all students, 2:20 p.m. dismissal
Gifford Grade School 188
N/A
Heritage CUSD 8
Thursday, Aug. 14: First half day grades 1-12, early dismissal 11:15 a.m.
Monday, Aug. 18: First full day of kindergarten attendance
Mahomet-Seymour CUSD 3
Wednesday, Aug. 13: first day of attendance for all students
Monticello CUSD 25
Wednesday, Aug. 13: first day of attendance for all students.
Prairieview-Ogden District 197
Thursday, Aug. 14: first day of attendance for all students, early dismissal
Rantoul City Schools 137
Monday, Aug. 18: first day for students in grades 1-8; kindergarten students with last names A through L
Tuesday, Aug. 19: regular attendance for students in grades 1-8; first day for kindergarten students with last names M through Z
Rantoul Township High School 193
N/A
St. Joseph CCSD 169
Thursday, Aug. 14: first day of attendance, half day
St. Joseph-Ogden High School
Thursday, Aug. 14: first day of attendance, half day
Tuscola 301
Wednesday, Aug 13: first day of attendance
Unit 7 Schools (Tolono, Sidney, Sadorus, Philo, Pesotum)
Tuesday, Aug. 12: first day of attendance for grades 1-12
Thursday, Aug. 14: first day of attendance for kindergarten
University Laboratory High School (Urbana)
N/A
Villa Grove
Friday, Aug. 15: dismissal at 2 p.m.