The first day of school lands on a different date in almost every district around Columbus. This guide tracks the published start dates for 21 central Ohio school districts, with every date pulled from that district’s own 2026-27 calendar and linked in the table so families can check the source directly.
One date on this list changed after the Aug. 11 derecho. Upper Arlington pushed its first day back because of storm damage, and the details are covered below the table. Every other district’s own website showed no storm-related schedule change as of Aug. 13.
Most districts also stagger their openings, so the “first day” often applies to certain grade levels or last names before everyone is in the building. The third column spells out how each district handles it.
| District | First Day of School | How the Start Works |
| Bexley City Schools | Thursday, Aug. 13 | Grades 1-5, 6th graders at the middle school and 9th graders at the high school start Aug. 13 with half of kindergarten; all grades 1-12 attend Aug. 14; every K-12 student is in session Monday, Aug. 17 |
| Big Walnut Local Schools | Thursday, Aug. 20 | Last names A-K start Aug. 20, L-Z start Aug. 21, all students report Monday, Aug. 24 |
| Canal Winchester Local Schools | Thursday, Aug. 13 | Grades 1-6 and 9 plus kindergartners with last names A-L start Aug. 13; grades 7-8 and 10-12 plus kindergarten M-Z start Aug. 14; all K-12 students attend Monday, Aug. 17; preschool begins Aug. 19 |
| Columbus City Schools | Thursday, Aug. 20 | Grades 1-12 on the traditional calendar start together Aug. 20 |
| Delaware City Schools | Wednesday, Aug. 19 | Grades 1-12 start Aug. 19; kindergarten eases in with phased “Gentle Start” days beginning Aug. 19; preschool begins Monday, Aug. 24 |
| Dublin City Schools | Thursday, Aug. 20 | All K-12 students start Aug. 20, with a kindergarten phase-in Aug. 20-21; preschool begins Aug. 26 |
| Gahanna-Jefferson Public Schools | Thursday, Aug. 20 | All students start together Aug. 20, no staggered days |
| Grandview Heights Schools | Wednesday, Aug. 12 | All students started Aug. 12; kindergarten phased in by group Aug. 12-14, with the first full kindergarten day Monday, Aug. 17 |
| Groveport Madison Local Schools | Tuesday, Aug. 11 | Grades 1-6 and 9 started Aug. 11; all grades 1-12 attended Aug. 12; kindergarten staggers in Aug. 14 (last names A-L) and Aug. 17 (M-Z), with all kindergartners in session Aug. 18 |
| Hamilton Local Schools | Thursday, Aug. 13 | All students start together Aug. 13 |
| Hilliard City Schools | Wednesday, Aug. 19 | All students start together Aug. 19; meet-the-teacher events run Aug. 17 |
| Licking Heights Local Schools | Thursday, Aug. 13 | Grades K-9 plus kindergarten last names A-K start Aug. 13; grades 10-12 plus kindergarten L-Z start Aug. 14 |
| New Albany-Plain Local Schools | Wednesday, Aug. 19 | Grades 1-12 last names A-K start Aug. 19, L-Z start Aug. 20, and all PK-12 students attend Friday, Aug. 21 |
| Olentangy Local Schools | Thursday, Aug. 20 | All K-12 students start together Aug. 20; preschool begins Aug. 25 |
| Pickerington Local Schools | Tuesday, Aug. 18 | Grades 1-12 stagger in Aug. 18-19; all students attend Aug. 20; kindergarten starts Friday, Aug. 21 |
| Reynoldsburg City Schools | Thursday, Aug. 20 | K-9 last names A-K plus all 10-12 students start Aug. 20; K-9 last names L-Z plus 10-12 attend Aug. 21; all students report Monday, Aug. 24 |
| South-Western City Schools | Wednesday, Aug. 19 | All grades 4-12 start Aug. 19; K-3 staggers by last name: A-G on Aug. 19, H-O on Aug. 20, P-Z on Aug. 21 |
| Upper Arlington Schools | Monday, Aug. 17 (delayed by storm damage) | Originally Aug. 12; pushed back after the Aug. 11 derecho. Grades 1-6 and 9 now start Aug. 17 alongside kindergarten orientation; grades 1-12 attend Aug. 18; all students are in session Aug. 19 |
| Westerville City Schools | Tuesday, Aug. 18 | Grades 1-5, 6 and 9 start Aug. 18; all grades 1-12 report Aug. 19; kindergarten “gentle start” days run Aug. 18-20; preschool follows with its own gentle start days |
| Whitehall City Schools | Thursday, Aug. 13 | Grades 1-6 and 9 start Aug. 13; grades 7-8 and 10-12 start Aug. 14; kindergarten orientation runs Aug. 19 with the kindergarten first day Thursday, Aug. 20 |
| Worthington Schools | Wednesday, Aug. 19 | Grades 1-9 start Aug. 19; grades 10-12 start Aug. 20; kindergarten begins Friday, Aug. 21; Sutter Park preschool starts Aug. 25-26 |
Upper Arlington’s Storm Delay
The derecho that tore through central Ohio on Aug. 11 knocked out power and dropped trees across Upper Arlington the day before classes were set to begin. The district called off its planned Aug. 12 start and moved the first day to Monday, Aug. 17, when grades 1-6 and 9 report alongside kindergarten orientation. Grades 1-12 attend Aug. 18, and all students are in session Aug. 19.
How Staggered Starts Work
Districts stagger for a practical reason. A building full of students who all need lockers, bus routes and schedules sorted on the same morning is chaos, so many districts bring in transition grades first. The pattern usually puts 1st graders, 6th graders and 9th graders in the building a day early, since those students are new to their schools. Kindergarten almost always starts later than everyone else, sometimes a full week later. Several districts also split kindergartners alphabetically by last name.
