Breaking News
Communities

Early start to 2026-2027 school year

Schools open in August due to a late Labor Day

By Clay Schuldt 5 min read

Though it is still August, many area schools are already back in session, with a few more planning to open next week.

Sleepy Eye Public was one of the first area schools to open, with first grade through seventh grade starting class on Monday, Aug. 24. The eighth grade through 12th grade classes began Tuesday, Aug. 25. Kindergarten classes resumed Wednesday, Aug. 26.

Sleepy Eye Superintendent John Cselovszki said by staggering the start dates for the different grades, the seventh-grade students have a chance to acclimate to the high school building before bringing in the older grades.

Cselovszki said schools had permission to start the year up to two weeks before Labor Day. With Labor Day falling on Sept. 7, many schools chose to start earlier.

Cselovszki said the early start of Sleepy Eye Public means the school year will let out early. He said the last day of school will be before Memorial Day 2027.

Going into this school year, Sleepy Eye Public has around 510 students enrolled, with the fourth and fifth grades having the most students.

Cselovszki said the biggest change going into the 2026-2027 school year is the team's mascot. This is the first year the school will go as the Sleepy Eye Storm.

"Everything is going well," Cselovszki said. "The kids are excited to learn and everyone is getting into a routine."

New Ulm Area Catholic Schools' (NUACS) first day of school was Tuesday, Aug. 25, with all grades pre-K through 12 starting classes.

NUACS president Sister Julie Brandt said this year 429 students were attending NUACS. Sixteen new students were joining the school in Kindergarten through sixth grade.

Brandt said the big change this year are the renovations at Cathedral High School. The renovation work began over the summer. The improvements include updates to the building's boiler controls and asbestos abatement.

Brandt said the first phase of the renovation is a tear-down process to be ready for next spring. The plan is to installed new HVAC and update the plumbing. There is also a plan to relocate and build a new locker room at the high school.

Brandt said these improvements will be completed over a two-year process, with much of the work done in the summer months.

She confirmed one of the reasons NUACS started class earlier was to end the school year earlier in the spring to begin further renovations. Cathedral High School will let out on May 14, with St. Anthony letting out on May 21.

Brandt said NUACS is still fundraising for the remaining $1.7 million needed for the renovations.

"We feel very blessed to have our donors and benefactors," Brandt said.

St. Paul's Lutheran School held its first day of classes for grades first through eighth grade Tuesday, Aug. 25. Kindergarten classes started Wednesday, Aug. 26.

St. Paul's Lutheran Principal Pete Markgraf said there are 298 students enrolled in their K-8 school and another 37 enrolled pre-school kids. The largest classes at the school are the fifth and sixth grades, which have 43 and 42 students respectively.

Markgraf said due to the late Labor Day holiday, the school chose to start classes earlier and allowed the year to end early on May 26. However, the early start also gives St. Paul's a week-long Easter Break during the year.

Markgraf said in terms of the physical building, the biggest change was an expansion to the school's parking lot. A new lot was added near Payne Street that is used by many of the teachers, but will be extremely helpful during special events at the school.

Markgraf said that overall it has been a good start to the school year.

"We are very thankful for our students' positive attitude," he said. "They are ready to go and the teachers are rested and ready to teach."

Minnesota Valley Lutheran High School (MVL) will resume classes for the freshmen on Monday, Aug. 31, with 10-12 grade starting Tuesday, Sept. 1.

MVL administrative assistant Haley Giefer said there will be 290 students enrolled in MVL at the start of the year. The incoming freshman class is the largest with 85 students.

New Ulm Public Schools will begin classes next week and will once again implement a staggered start.

Students in fifth and ninth grade will start classes Monday, Aug. 31. This will allow fifth-grades student to get accustom to the Middle School and ninth graders to transition into the high school before the other grades join.

All other grades will start classes Tuesday, Sept. 1, with Kindergarten starting Wednesday, Sept. 2.

This year, New Ulm Public Schools saw renovations to the middle school patio area. Multiple rooms in the middle school and Jefferson Elementary were re-carpeted. The roof at Washington Learning Center was renovated in the last year. The track at the high school was resurfaced.

Superintendent Sean Koster said during a building tour earlier this month that the track resurfacing is something the school needs to redo once every 10 years.

Starting at /week.