Start dates for Champaign-Urbana area school districts
Mark your calendars for the first day of the 2024-25 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.
Check out our entire Back to School series, presented by Christie Clinic:
- Preparing for Illness During the School Year
- Ask the Doctor: A Guide to Packing Healthy School Lunches
- Back to School: 8 Things You Didn’t Know You Needed
- Helping Out at Your Child’s School
- Champaign-Urbana Area School Start Dates
- Save Money on Back to School in Champaign-Urbana: Free Supplies, Backpacks, Haircuts and Health Screenings
- Back to School: Dental, Vision Exams Required for Illinois Students
- Back to School: Immunizations Required for Illinois Students
- School Physicals: What’s Required for Illinois Students in 2024
Thank you to Christie Clinic for presenting our 2024 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.
Please contact the department for evening or weekend school physical appointment availability.
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. 12: First day of school for grades K-6 and grade 9.
Tuesday, Aug. 13: First day of school for grades 7, 8 and high school.
Urbana School District 116
Thursday, Aug. 15: First day of school for half of kindergarten students, all of grades 1-6 and grade 9.
Friday, Aug. 16: All grades 1-12 in attendance; other half of kindergarten in attendance.
Fisher CUSD 1
Wednesday, Aug. 14: 2:05 p.m. dismissal, all students
Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley
Monday, Aug. 19: first day of attendance for all students, 2:20 p.m. dismissal
Gifford Grade School 188
Thursday, Aug. 15: early dismissal at 11:45 a.m.
Heritage CUSD 8
Thursday, Aug. 15: First half day grades 1-12
Monday, Aug. 19: First full day of kindergarten attendance
Mahomet-Seymour CUSD 3
Wednesday, Aug. 14: first day of attendance for all students
Monticello CUSD 25
Friday, Aug. 16: first day of attendance for all students.
Prairieview-Ogden District 197
Wednesday, Aug. 14: first day of attendance for all students, early dismissal
Rantoul City Schools 137
Monday, Aug. 19: first day for all students
Rantoul Township High School 193
Wednesday, Aug. 14: first day of attendance for all students
St. Joseph CCSD 169
Wednesday, Aug. 14: first day of attendance, half day
St. Joseph-Ogden High School
Wednesday, Aug. 14: first day of attendance, half day
Tuscola 301
Tuesday, Aug 13: first day of attendance
Unit 7 Schools (Tolono, Sidney, Sadorus, Philo, Pesotum)
Wednesday, Aug. 14: first day of attendance
University Laboratory High School (Urbana)
Wednesday, Aug 14: first day of attendance
Villa Grove
Friday, Aug. 16: dismissal at 2 p.m.