Q COSTARICA — The school calendar defines the dates for vacations, family activities, and academic commitments.
The Ministerio de Educación Pública (MEP)—Ministry of Public Education, has set the dates for the mid-year break in its 2026 calendar. This schedule will allow families, students, and schools to plan academic activities and breaks for the coming year in advance.
The mid-year break will take place from July 6 to 17, 2026.
This break will mark the end of the first academic term and the beginning of the second term of the academic calendar.
Complete information on the 2026 school calendar is available on the website provided by the Ministry of Public Education: calendario.mep.go.cr/2026.
The calendar also establishes that graduation ceremonies will be held on December 10 and 11, 2026, after the end of the academic year.
Public schools are tuition-free, fully immersive in Spanish, and deeply connect students to local communities, but face frequent schedule interruptions and underfunded infrastructure, while private and international schools offer robust English-bilingual or foreign curricula, continuous schedules, and modern resources, but require significant tuition fees
Both public and private schools operate under standards set by the MEP. Both follow the Costa Rican school year, which runs from February to December. However, some top international schools follow the U.S. and Canada school year, typically from early September to late May or early June.