2019-20 Key Dates for School Calendars

Here are some special days you may want to note on your 2019-20 school year calendar or take into consideration as you establish programs for next year. They are from Resources for Planning the School Calendar, published and distributed by the National School Public Relations Association, 15948 Derwood Road, Rockville, MD 20855. Order online at nspra.org/products or call (301) 519-0496. The price is $40 per copy plus shipping and handling.

2019
Date Observance/Holiday
Sept. 1-30	Library Card Sign-Up Month
Sept. 2	Labor Day
Sept. 8 	International Literacy Day
Sept. 8	Grandparents’ Day
Sept. 8-14	National Arts in Education Week
Sept. 11	Patriot Day
Sept. 15-	Hispanic Heritage Month
Oct. 15
Sept. 15-16 	Mexican Independence Days
Sept. 16	Mayflower Day
Sept. 17	Citizenship/Constitution Day
Sept. 17-23	Constitution Week
Sept. 21	International Day of Peace
Sept. 23	First Day of Autumn
Sept. 28	National Good Neighbor Day
Sept. 29-
Oct. 1       Rosh Hashanah*
Oct. 1	Child Health Day
Oct. 1-31	Crime Prevention Month
Oct. 1-31	Czech Heritage Month
Oct. 1-31	Italian American Heritage and Culture Month
Oct. 1-31	National Bullying Prevention Month
Oct. 1-31	National Principals Month
Oct. 1-31	Polish American Heritage Month
Oct. 1-31	Trick or Treat for UNICEF Month 
Oct. 2	International Walk to School Day 
Oct. 6	German American Day 
Oct. 6-12	National Metric Week
Oct. 6-12	Fire Prevention Week
Oct. 6-12	National Educational Office Professionals Week
Oct. 8-9*	Yom Kippur
Oct. 14	Canadian Thanksgiving
Oct. 14	Columbus Day
Oct. 14-18	National School Lunch Week 
Oct. 16	World Food Day
Oct. 20-26	National Character Counts Week 
Oct. 21-25	National School Bus Safety Week 
Oct. 23-31	Red Ribbon Week (Drug-Free America)
Oct. 24	United Nations Day
Oct. 26	Make a Difference Day
Oct. 31	Halloween
Nov. 1-30	Native American Heritage Month
Nov. 3	Standard Time
Nov. 5	Election Day
Nov. 11	Veterans Day
Nov. 18-22	American Education Week
Nov. 19	Gettysburg Address Anniversary 
Nov. 20	Education Support Professionals Day 
Nov. 21	National Parental Involvement Day 
Nov. 22	Substitute Educators Day
Nov. 24-30	National Family Week
Nov. 28	Thanksgiving Day
Dec. 1	World AIDS Day
Dec. 7	Pearl Harbor Day
Dec. 10	Human Rights Day
Dec. 15	Bill of Rights Day
Dec. 21	First Day of Winter
Dec. 22-30	Hanukkah*
Dec. 25	Christmas
Dec. 26-	Kwanzaa
Jan. 1 

2020
Date Observance/Holiday
Jan. 1	New Year’s Day
Jan. 1	Emancipation Proclamation Anniversary
Jan. 1-31	School Board Recognition Month 
Jan. 19	World Religion Day
Jan. 20	Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Jan. 25	Chinese New Year
Feb. 1	National Freedom Day
Feb. 1-29	African American History Month
Feb. 1-29	National Children’s Dental Health Month
Feb. 2	Groundhog Day
Feb. 3-7	National School Counseling Week
Feb. 12	Abraham Lincoln’s Birthday
Feb. 14	Valentine’s Day 
Feb. 17	National PTA Founders Day 
Feb. 17	Presidents’ Day 
Feb. 22	George Washington’s Birthday
Feb. 22-29	National FFA Week 
Feb. 25	Mardi Gras
Feb. 26	Ash Wednesday 
Feb. 26-	
April 11 	Lent
March 1-31	American Red Cross Month
March 1-31	Irish American Heritage Month
March 1-31	Music in Our Schools Month
March 1-31	National Middle Level Education Month
March 1-31	National Nutrition Month®
March 1-31	Social Work Month
March 1-31	Women’s History Month
March 1-31	Youth Art Month
March 2	NEA’s Read Across America (Dr. Seuss’s Birthday)
March 2-6	Classified School Employees Week 
Dates differ in some states. Usually scheduled for first or second week in March
March 2-6	National School Breakfast Week
March 2-8	National Foreign Language Week
March 8	International Women’s Day
March 8	Daylight Saving Time
March 11	Johnny Appleseed Day
March 15-21	National Poison Prevention Week
March 17	St. Patrick’s Day
March 19	Absolutely Incredible Kid Day® 
March 19	First Day of Spring
March 20	Bahá’í New Year’s Day
March 21	International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
April 1	April Fools’ Day 
April 1-30	National Poetry Month
April 1-30	National Autism Awareness Month
April 1-30	School Library Month
April 2	International Children’s Book Day
April 7	World Health Day
April 8-9	Passover* (First Days)
April 10	Good Friday 
April 12	Easter 
April 15-16	Passover (Concluding Days)
April 19-25	National Library Week
April 19-25	National Volunteer Week
April 19-25	National Coin Week
April 19-25	National Student Leadership Week 
April 19-25	Administrative Professionals Week 
April 20	Patriot’s Day
April 20-21	Holocaust Remembrance Day*
April 20-24	Public School Volunteer Week
April 22	Administrative Professionals Day
April 22	Earth Day
April 23	Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day™
April 24	First Day of Ramadan
April 24	National Arbor Day
May 1	Law Day 
May 1	School Lunch Hero Day 
May 1-7	National Physical Education and Sports Week 
May 1-31	Asian Pacific American Heritage Month
May 1-31	Better Hearing and Speech Month
May 1-31	National Physical Fitness and Sports Month
May 1-31	Preservation Month
May 1-31	Food Allergy Action Month
May 3	World Press Freedom Day
May 3-9	Be Kind to Animals Week
May 3-10	National Music Week 
May 4	Horace Mann’s Birthday
May 4-8	Teacher Appreciation Week
May 5	Cinco de Mayo
May 5	National Teacher Day 
May 6	National Bike to School Day
May 6	National School Nurse Day
May 8	World Red Cross Day
May 10	Mother’s Day
May 16	Armed Forces Day
May 18	Victoria Day (Canada)
May 25	Memorial Day
May 31	World No Tobacco Day
June – July	Fireworks Safety Month
June 1-30	Caribbean-American Heritage Month
June 1-30	Great Outdoors Month
June 5	World Environment Day
June 14	Race Unity Day
June 14	Flag Day
June 16	International Day of the African Child
June 19	Juneteenth
June 20	First Day of Summer
June 21	Father’s Day

*Begins at sunset on the preceding day

Please note: Some groups/states celebrate appreciation days or weeks on different dates, particularly those for classified school employees and teachers.