WESLEY CHAPEL, Fla. — Pasco County students can look forward to a few long weekends next school year in addition to their normal breaks.  

What You Need To Know

  • The Pasco County School Board has added some four-day weekends to the 2024-25 school calendar 

  • District officials say the goal is to promote attendance and give families set dates for things like vacations and appointments

  • The four-day weekends are scheduled for October 12-15, February 14-17, and April 18-21

  • School officials say students will still receive the same amount of instructional time, even with the four-day weekends

The Pasco County School Board added three four-day weekends to the 2024-25 school calendar.  District officials said the extra breaks are something new they’re trying, in the hope that providing scheduled time off throughout the year will help improve students’ attendance.

The “mini breaks” are getting some mixed reviews from families, particularly working families. However, some say they are very excited, like the Williams family.

Kiva Williams and her family like to spend most of their free time together. 

“Sometimes we go on little short mini road trips like to Clearwater — we love the St. Pete Pier, we take the scooters and let them play out there,” she said.

Now, they’re planning more mini road trips for next school year, after she received a text message on Tuesday from Pasco Schools. 

“2024-2025 four day mini breaks added in October, February and April for students and families. These mini breaks are in addition to Thanksgiving, winter and spring breaks,” she said, reading the text message.

The four-day weekends are scheduled for Oct. 12-15, Feb. 14-17, and April 18-21. Williams said those weekends give her family more flexibility, but she understands how it could also be tough for others.

“For me, being a stay at home mom, it works well with our schedule because I have the ability to be home with my kids," she said. "I do have some friends who work corporate jobs, so their schedule may be a little bit tighter, but I think they’re still happy about it because now they have planned dates where they know they have the time off.”

Pasco County Schools officials said students will still receive the same amount of instructional time for the year, even with the four-day weekends.