No school on Election Day in 10 South Coast districts: the days off and early releases through Thanksgiving
We read the 2026-27 calendars 13 South Coast districts post. Here is every day off, early release and late start they list from this week through Thanksgiving, district by district.
NEW BEDFORD Students in 10 of the 13 South Coast school districts whose calendars we read will have no classes on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3. The 2026-27 calendars the districts post on their own websites mark the day as no school for students, with professional development or training for staff, in Fall River, New Bedford, Acushnet, Westport, Somerset, Swansea, Dighton-Rehoboth, Freetown-Lakeville and Somerset Berkley Regional, and at Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School.
Fairhaven's and Wareham's calendars do not list Nov. 3 as a day off. The calendar Old Rochester Regional shares with the Union 55 elementary schools in Marion, Mattapoisett and Rochester marks Nov. 3 as a professional development day but does not say whether students attend, so we do not count it among the 10. (We count that shared calendar as one district.)
Veterans Day, Wednesday, Nov. 11, is marked as no school or as a holiday on 12 of the 13 calendars. Fairhaven's lists the date as Veteran's Day but does not say in words whether school is open. Every calendar lists Thursday and Friday, Nov. 26 and 27, as Thanksgiving break, recess, vacation, holiday or no school. All but one send students home early on Wednesday, Nov. 25. New Bedford is the exception: its calendar marks the whole day as no school for students.
This week and next
At Greater New Bedford Voc-Tech, students start one hour late on Wednesday, Oct. 21, and Wednesday, Oct. 28, as they did on Oct. 7 and Oct. 14, the school's calendar shows.
Somerset Middle School students have no school Thursday, Oct. 22, the day of the middle school's parent-teacher conferences. Somerset's calendar marks the day off for middle school students only.
Wareham Public Schools has an early release day Thursday, Oct. 29. In Marion, Mattapoisett and Rochester, the Union 55 elementary schools let students out early Thursday and Friday, Oct. 29 and 30, for parent conferences. The calendar sets dismissal at 11:30 a.m. at Center School, Old Hammondtown School and Sippican School and at 12:30 p.m. at Rochester Memorial School.
Friday, Oct. 30, is an early release day in Acushnet, where the calendar marks it for staff professional development, and in Swansea, where the calendar marks it district-wide. Swansea's junior high and high school dismiss at 11 a.m. that day, according to its calendar.
Thanksgiving week and the days before
Several districts add early releases in the weeks before Thanksgiving. Dighton-Rehoboth's middle schools dismiss early Wednesday, Nov. 18, and its elementary schools on Thursday and Friday, Nov. 19 and 20, for parent conferences. Somerset's elementary schools dismiss early Wednesday, Nov. 18. In Fairhaven, elementary students leave early Monday and Tuesday, Nov. 23 and 24, before the early release for all students on Nov. 25.
On Nov. 25, Somerset serves no lunches and middle school students leave at 11 a.m., its calendar says. Somerset Berkley Regional High School dismisses at 10:30 a.m., also with no lunch. Freetown-Lakeville and Wareham list the day as a half day.
| District | Tuesday, Nov. 3 | Wednesday, Nov. 25 | Calendar approved or dated |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acushnet Public Schools | No school (staff training) | Early release | No approval date shown; file dated March 20, 2026 |
| Dighton-Rehoboth Regional | No school (staff training) | Early release | Approved Aug. 11, 2026 |
| Fairhaven Public Schools | Not listed as a day off | Early release | Adopted March 18, 2026 |
| Fall River Public Schools | No school (staff training) | Early release | Approved April 1, 2026 |
| Freetown-Lakeville Regional | No school (staff training) | Half day | Approved Feb. 4, 2026 |
| Greater New Bedford Voc-Tech | No school (staff training) | Early release | File dated Aug. 11, 2026 |
| New Bedford Public Schools | No school (staff training) | No school | No approval date shown; file dated July 29, 2026 |
| Old Rochester Regional and Union 55 | Professional development day (no school not stated) | Early release | Approved Jan. 29, 2026 |
| Somerset Public Schools | No school (staff training) | Early release, no lunches | Version 1, March 24, 2026 |
| Somerset Berkley Regional | No school (staff training) | Early release, 10:30 a.m. | Version 2, March 26, 2026 |
| Swansea Public Schools | No school (staff training) | Early release | No approval date shown; file dated March 4, 2026 |
| Wareham Public Schools | Not listed as a day off | Half day | Approved Jan. 15, 2026 |
| Westport Community Schools | No school (staff training) | Early release | Approved April 8, 2026; revised June 25, 2026 |
Looking ahead
Greater New Bedford Voc-Tech holds an open house Sunday, Nov. 22, and has no school Friday, Dec. 4, because of it, the school's calendar says. New Bedford students have an early release Wednesday, Dec. 9, for parent and teacher conferences.
The Dighton-Rehoboth Regional School Committee meets Tuesday, Oct. 27, at 6:30 p.m., and the Freetown-Lakeville Regional School Committee meets Wednesday, Nov. 4, according to the districts' calendars.
Before you plan around a date
Districts can change these calendars during the year. Freetown-Lakeville's says it is subject to change, and Fairhaven's warns that emergency closings and weather can force schedule changes. New Bedford's calendar lists seven extra days in late June to be used if needed for snow cancellations or emergencies, and Greater New Bedford Voc-Tech's reserves five June snow days. Each district posts its current calendar on its own website.
Dartmouth Public Schools is not in this story. The district's website could not be reached when we tried it on Monday evening, so we could not read its calendar.
Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.
How we verified this
Every fact comes from the 2026-27 calendars that 13 districts post on their own websites, listed below. We read them on Oct. 19 between 6:55 and 7:05 p.m., and read the color-coded New Bedford, Fairhaven, Old Rochester, Somerset, Westport and Greater New Bedford calendars as images to confirm which days are marked. The approval dates in the table are the ones printed on each calendar. Where a calendar prints none, we give the date stored in the file and say so. A day counts as no school only where the calendar says so in words or in its color key. Old Rochester's Nov. 3 is marked only as a professional development day, so it is not counted. Old Rochester and Union 55 share one calendar and count as one district. We reopened every calendar a second time on Oct. 19, starting at 7:22 p.m. We checked each date and weekday against a calendar. Dartmouth's website could not be reached, so Dartmouth is left out. Not heard: we did not contact the districts for this story. Districts can revise their calendars, and a school's office can confirm any date.
Corrections
No corrections to this story. If something here is wrong, tell us. Every correction is dated on the story and listed in our public log.
Sources (12)
- Fall River Public Schools, 2026-2027 District Academic Calendar (PDF)Approved by the School Committee 4/1/26, the calendar says. Nov. 3 PD day, no school for students; Nov. 11; Nov. 25 early release; Nov. 26 and 27. Read Oct. 19, 2026.
- New Bedford Public Schools, 2026-2027 NBPS District Student Calendar (rev. 7/30)Linked from newbedfordschools.org/calendars. Blue dates are no school for students: Nov. 3, Nov. 11, Nov. 25 to 27. Dec. 9 early release for conferences. Read Oct. 19, 2026.
- Fairhaven Public Schools, 2026-2027 calendarAdopted by School Committee March 18, 2026. Nov. 3 not marked; Nov. 23 and 24 elementary early release; Nov. 25 early release. Read Oct. 19, 2026.
- Westport Community Schools, 2026-2027 School Year Calendar (image)Approved by the School Committee 4.8.26, revised 6.25.26. Nov. 3 Election Day, no school for students, staff training. Read Oct. 19, 2026.
- Somerset Public Schools and Somerset Berkley Regional, 2026-2027 calendars (PDFs)Somerset Version 1 3-24-26: Oct. 22 no school for middle school students; Nov. 3; Nov. 18; Nov. 25 no lunches. SBRHS v2: Nov. 25 10:30 a.m. dismissal. Read Oct. 19, 2026.
- Swansea School Department, School Year 2026-2027Linked as the school calendar from swanseaschools.org. Nov. 3 staff only, no students; Oct. 30 early release, 11 a.m. junior high and high school. Read Oct. 19, 2026.
- Acushnet Public Schools, 2026-2027 calendarLinked as the School Year Calendar from acushnetschools.us. Oct. 30 early release; Nov. 3 no school, elections, PD staff. Read Oct. 19, 2026.
- Wareham Public Schools, School Calendar 2026-2027 and Academic Year Calendar 26_27Approved by School Committee Jan. 15, 2026. Oct. 29 early release; Nov. 25 half day; Nov. 3 not listed. Read Oct. 19, 2026.
- Dighton-Rehoboth Regional, 2026-2027 District Calendar (Google Doc)School Committee approved 8/11/26. Oct. 27 School Committee 6:30 p.m.; Nov. 3 PD day, no school; Nov. 18 to 20 conference early releases; Nov. 25 early release. Read Oct. 19, 2026.
- Freetown-Lakeville Regional, 2026-2027 School CalendarLinked as the District Calendar from freelake.org. Approved by FLRSC 2.4.26. Nov. 3 PD, no school students; Nov. 4 FLRSC meeting; Nov. 25 half day. Read Oct. 19, 2026.
- Old Rochester Regional and Union 55, School Calendar 2026-2027 (PDF)Approved by the Joint School Committee 01.29.2026. Oct. 29 and 30 elementary early release for parent conferences; Nov. 3 PD day; Nov. 25 early release. Read Oct. 19, 2026.
- Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School, 2026-2027 Calendar (PDF)Oct. 7, 14, 21 and 28 one-hour delayed start; Nov. 3 PD, no school; Nov. 22 open house; Nov. 25 early release; Dec. 4 no school. Read Oct. 19, 2026.