Wisconsin school holidays

Wisconsin law prevents public schools from starting before September 1, which is why the three districts on this page open within a day of each other. Green Bay Area Public School District goes back on August 31, 2026 under the pre-Labor Day exception applied to its calendar, and Milwaukee Public Schools and Madison Metropolitan School District both open on September 1. Madison phases in, with 4K, kindergarten, grade 6 and grade 9 on the first day and everyone else from September 2.

The finishes are further apart than the starts. Green Bay is out on June 3, 2027, Madison on June 10 and Milwaukee on June 15, so a Green Bay family gets nearly two extra weeks of June.

Wisconsin does not really do a fall break. Milwaukee takes a single day, October 26, 2026, and Madison and Green Bay take none at all. From September through to Thanksgiving there is almost nothing in the calendar, which is close to three unbroken months of school.

Thanksgiving compensates in Madison, which calls that week its fall break and closes from November 25 to 30, 2026, taking in the Monday after. Milwaukee and Green Bay take the standard November 25 to 27.

Winter break starts on December 21, 2026 in Milwaukee and Madison and December 24 in Green Bay, and all three return on January 4, 2027.

February is thin. Milwaukee takes one day, February 22, 2027, and the others take none.

Spring break separates Milwaukee from the rest. Madison and Green Bay both take March 22 to 26, 2027. Milwaukee takes March 26 to April 2, wrapping Good Friday and Easter, so the two largest districts in the state are off in different weeks.

The long autumn with almost no days off makes September and October the cheapest and quietest months to travel from Wisconsin, and it is the reason the Wisconsin Dells shoulder season runs so soft. If you can take children out for a day either side of a weekend, that is the window to use.

The spring break split means the Dells and Door County are busy for two consecutive weeks in late March rather than one. Madison and Green Bay fill the week of March 22 and Milwaukee fills the week of March 29.

Milwaukee holds June 21 and 22, 2027 as emergency make-up days, and several Green Bay schools follow alternative calendars with dates that differ from the district norm, so check your own school before booking early June travel.

This page covers Milwaukee Public Schools, Madison Metropolitan School District and Green Bay Area Public School District.