School starts Tuesday for every student at Clearwater High, Countryside High and the rest of Pinellas County Schools. Here is the full 2026-27 calendar families need on the refrigerator before the Aug. 11 first bell.

The district's official student calendar lists the following no-school days and breaks:

Holidays and breaks (no school for students):

  • Monday, Sept. 7: Labor Day
  • Monday, Oct. 12: No school (possible hurricane makeup day)
  • Wednesday, Nov. 11: No school (possible hurricane makeup day)
  • Nov. 21-29: Thanksgiving holiday week. The full district holiday period runs Saturday through Sunday; the school days off are Monday, Nov. 23 through Friday, Nov. 27.
  • Dec. 19-Jan. 3: Winter holidays. Students' last day before break is Friday, Dec. 18.
  • Monday, Jan. 4: No school (possible hurricane makeup day). Second semester begins Tuesday, Jan. 5.
  • Monday, Jan. 18: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day
  • Monday, Feb. 15: Presidents' Day (possible hurricane makeup day)
  • March 13-21: Spring holidays (no school for students)
  • Friday, March 26: No school (possible hurricane makeup day)
  • Thursday, April 23: No school (possible hurricane makeup day)

Quarter dates:

  • Friday, Oct. 9: End of Quarter 1
  • Friday, Dec. 18: End of Quarter 2 / first semester
  • Friday, March 12: End of Quarter 3
  • Wednesday, May 27: End of Quarter 4 / last day of school (two-hour early release)

Hurricane makeup days to know:

If a hurricane forces school closures, the district will reclaim up to six days already marked as no-school: Oct. 12, Nov. 11, Jan. 4, Feb. 15, March 26 and April 23. No storms? Those days stay off.

Early dismissal:

The official student calendar confirms one early-release day: the last day of school, Wednesday, May 27, when students leave two hours early. Additional early dismissal dates may appear on the district's full instructional calendar; families should check for updates as the year progresses.

What Clearwater families should know:

The school board approved an amended version of the 2026-27 calendar at its May 19 meeting, so families relying on older printouts should download the current version from the district's back-to-school page. The district noted the calendar remains subject to change.

Pinellas County Schools, Florida's seventh-largest district, earned an "A" grade from the state Department of Education for the third consecutive year as of July 1.

The next school board meeting after opening day is Thursday, Aug. 13, at the PCS Administration Building, 301 4th St. SW, Largo.