AMARILLO, Texas (KAMR/KCIT) – As community members and families prepare for the start of the 2025-2026 school year for Amarillo and the High Plains area, many have already made note of what day their local school district heads back to class. However, some families across the region will have shorter weeks than others.
According to the most recent information available through the Texas Classroom Teachers Association, Texas Education Agency and published school calendars, 10 districts around the Texas Panhandle will have a four-day week or a hybrid schedule going into the next year.
When does school start? District dates and schedules for 2025-2026 around Amarillo and the High Plains
Districts around the Texas Panhandle that will switch to or continue to operate on four-day school weeks include:
- Bushland ISD
- Channing ISD
- Groom ISD (Hybrid)
- Follett ISD (Hybrid)
- Happy ISD
- Kelton ISD
- Paducah ISD
- Silverton ISD
- Spearman ISD
- Springlake-Earth ISD
Follett ISD and Groom ISD have adopted a “hybrid” schedule with four-day weeks for part of the year, while the others will have a four-day week for the entire school year.
As noted in previous reports on MyHighPlains.com, dozens of districts around the state have adopted at least a partial four-day week schedule in recent years with various hopes of improving attendance, teacher retention, and saving money. The move has appeared especially popular with rural school districts, which have often reported benefitting from the opportunity to have a more flexible schedule.
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Such a schedule change, as reported previously, was also made possible with a 2015 Texas law that changed the timing of classroom instruction. Districts no longer need to provide a specific number of days in class, but rather a minimum of 75,600 minutes.
Further information and 2025-2026 school year start dates for districts around Amarillo and the High Plains can be found here…