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Charlottesville City Schools

Back to School

BACK TO SCHOOL

We're excited to welcome students back to school on Wednesday, August 12!

The 2026-27 School Year Starts Wednesday, August 12!

This page will be updated throughout the summer to help families get ready for school. ​​​​

On this page:

  • Attendance & Calendars
  • Back to School Events
  • School Supplies
  • School Schedules
  • Registration
  • Nutrition
  • Transportation
  • Stay in Touch With School

Attendance & Calendars

Academic Calendar & School Holidays

The easiest way to keep up with school holidays is to subscribe to our Google Calendar. You can also subscribe to each school’s official calendar.

Visit Our Calendar Page

Attendance

Virginia requires daily student attendance. Attending school regularly (missing no more than 9 days annually) helps kids feel positively about school.

Back to School Events

  • CHS

    • Freshmen Orientation (students only) is Monday, August 10, 11am-4pm
    • Freshman Family Open House is Monday, August 10, 4-5pm
    • Open House is Monday, August 10, 5-7pm

     

    CATEC

    • Open House is Monday, August 10, 5-7pm

     

    LMA 

    • Open House is Monday, August 10, 12-4pm

     

    Charlottesville Middle School and New Pathways

    • Meet and Greets: Monday, August 10, 3-6pm and Tuesday, August 11, 12-3pm. 

     

    Elementary Schools

    • Meet & Greets are Monday, August 10, 1-4pm

  • Poster for Charlottesville City Schools' Back to School Carnival, featuring a circus tent and balloons.Join us for the Charlottesville City Schools Better Together: Back-to-School Carnival-Themed Celebration-Where Learning Takes Center Stage on Sunday, August 9, 2026, from 11am-2pm at Charlottesville Middle School.

    There will be lots of food, games and prizes.  Families can also get students ready for the first day of school with on-site student registration and school supply sign-ups at CMS. School supplies will be available for pickup at each student's Charlottesville City Schools home school. In addition, students can receive free haircuts, books, braids, and sneakers at the Cherry Ave. Boys & Girls Club.

    Back-to-school season is about celebrating our community that values learning and supporting our children and we invite everyone to join us and experience the power of being Better Together.

    Here's to a fantastic school year!

School Supplies

School Supply Lists

Below is our School Supplies lists for the 2026-27 school year. Additionally, we’re excited to announce that we’re once again able to provide backpacks and school supplies for students in need!

To receive free supplies you must fill out the form for free supplies for each of your students. After you fill out this form, supplies will be waiting for your child at their school in time for meet-and-greets/open houses.

Schedules

Teacher Assignments/Student Schedules

Assignments and schedules will be sent home via ParentSquare: 

  • Bus route information will be sent out the week of August 3
  • Teacher assignments and class schedules will be sent by TBD

Re-Registration

Click-by-Click Re-Registration Steps

  1. Log in to SchoolMint and verify you are in the 2026-2027 year (found in the upper right). SchoolMint features a password reset feature if you need it!
  2. Find the appropriate student card, and click the Add Forms button [or the + button for Non-Resident families].
  3. The Student Information screen will appear where you will need to confirm basic student information along with your current physical address and district of residence. [Approved Non-Resident students will not see this step as it was completed in the application process.]  Click the Save and Continue button
  4. On the next screen, click the down arrow next to the option of Re-Register at Your Current School, then click the blue, Re-Register button to continue.

Re-registration is how you can update your bus requests, phone numbers, and more to get ready for the year.

The re-registration form is open in SchoolMint for all returning resident students and all approved non-resident students. Using your SchoolMint account from last year, please access the program and begin the process by following the Click-By-Click Instructions below.

If you have questions or issues in accessing SchoolMint, please contact your school for further assistance.

 

Children in colorful shirts participate in an outdoor activity on a sunny day.

Nutrition & Transportation

Student Meals: Free!

All students attending Charlottesville City Schools are eligible to receive a free nutritious breakfast and lunch each day at school. You do not need to complete any application. 

Charlottesville City Schools strives to serve fresh, healthy, and tasty meals. We offer breakfast and lunch. When possible, we purchase local food and cook from scratch to minimize salt, sugar, and fat. We also provide salads to offer choices for everyone, including vegan and vegetarian students.

Out of respect to our Jewish and Muslim students, no pork products are served. All meals follow USDA guidelines. 

Menus and meal ingredients are available online.

Transportation

Students who live in the City are eligible for the bus based on their distance from the school — .75 miles for elementaries, 1.25 miles for Buford/Walker, and 1.5 miles for CHS. Students whose homes are within these distances to their school are in the walk zone (or “family responsibility zone”). Specific students with special needs such as documented medical conditions are also eligible for the bus regardless of distance from school.

Not eligible for the bus? Our schools and the City’s Safe Routes to School program work to support safe walking and bike-riding. 

Learn more about safe routes to school. 

Older students also have the option to catch the CAT (public transit) to CHS or CMS (Routes 4 and 6). 

Learn more about using public transit to get to school. 

Stay in Touch With School

We use ParentSquare for all our school-related communications. Looking for a message or reminder from your teacher, principal, or the school division? Check ParentSquare. Need to send a message to your teacher or another employee? Use the ParentSquare messaging feature. The ParentSquare app or website provides an easy way to scroll through all your school-related messages, keeping important information in one place (and in 100+ languages). ParentSquare will work without the app, but the app (or the web login) provides the best experience. Go to our ParentSquare page to learn more and find links to download the free app.

There are many other ways to stay connected: