Back to school in Webster: what parents need to know for Sept. 2

Webster Central School District classes resume Wednesday, Sept. 2, and the first week is two days long. Students attend Wednesday and Thursday, and then there is no school Friday, Sept. 4 or Monday, Sept. 7 for Labor Day weekend. The first full week does not start until Tuesday, Sept. 8.

For families lining up childcare, be prepared for that.

The first two weeks, at a glance

• Monday, Aug. 31 and Tuesday, Sept. 1: Superintendent's Conference Days. Staff report; no students are in buildings.
• Wednesday, Sept. 2: first day of classes for all students.
• Thursday, Sept. 3: day two, and the last day of the first week.
• Friday, Sept. 4 and Monday, Sept. 7: no school, Labor Day weekend.
• Tuesday, Sept. 8: the first full week begins, and the school year's first Board of Education meeting is that afternoon at 5 p.m.
• Bell times: most elementary schools run 7:50 a.m. to 2:20 p.m.; Klem Road North and Plank Road North run 7:40 a.m. to 2:10 p.m.; all middle and high schools run 8:45 a.m. to 3:15 p.m.
• Meals: breakfast and lunch are free for every student, starting the first day.

Nearly everything below comes from two district documents: the Back to School 2026-27 newsletter, the 16-page issue mailed to Webster homes, and the Board of Education's adopted 2026-27 school calendar.

What time your school starts

Bell times are printed in the newsletter's school directory. Five of the seven elementary schools run 7:50 a.m. to 2:20 p.m. Two of them, Klem Road North and Plank Road North, start 10 minutes earlier, at 7:40 a.m. Families with children in two different elementary buildings should check both rows.

All middle and high schools run 8:45 a.m. to 3:15 p.m.

The district's alternative programs keep their own hours: GOAL, 8:45 a.m. to 3:15 p.m.; One Webster Learning (OWL) High, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.; OWL Middle, 8:55 a.m. to 2:55 p.m.; OWL Elementary, 7:50 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The newsletter announces no change to school hours this year.

Buses

The district says its Infinite Campus parent portal carries bus schedules, along with attendance, grades and report cards, so that is where to look for your child's stop. No release date for 2026-27 routes is published, so check the portal rather than waiting for an announcement. Transportation answers at 585-265-3840, 6 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.

One thing the district does say, in its transportation FAQ: after school starts, bus numbers and stop times can change whenever a route is adjusted, even when the stop location itself holds. A route confirmed this week is not necessarily the route in October.

Willink families, the parking lot is changing

The district says a complete restoration of Willink Middle School's parking lot is underway, and that it "will create a new traffic pattern for pick up and drop off." It also says the specifics are not out yet. In the newsletter's capital project update, the district writes: "Stay tuned for more details as that work is completed closer to the start of school."

That is the whole of what has been published. As of publication, neither the district's Willink construction page nor the school's own page described the new pattern. Willink parents should expect the arrival and dismissal routine to be different on Sept. 2 and should watch for the district's notice.

Also at Willink, the district says the OWL addition is "taking shape with work to be completed in time for school to start this fall." The Ledger reported the Willink construction project on July 29, when no building-by-building schedule had been released.

At Spry, a two-year bathroom project

A remodel of all bathroom facilities at Spry Middle School began this summer. The district says it will be a two-year process, staggered across areas of the building.

Meals are free, and you should still fill out the form

Every Webster student receives one complete free breakfast and one complete free lunch daily starting on the first day of school. The district attributes this to its participation in the federal Community Eligibility Provision.

Even so, the district asks families to complete a Free/Reduced Price Meal Application, one per family. Approved applications unlock fee waivers for other district programs, including AP exams and driver's education. No deadline is published: the district says a family may submit or update an application at any time during the school year as circumstances change. The application is online through the Parent Portal under the Food Service section, and paper forms are available at each school.

Second meals and a la carte items are not free and cannot be charged. Prepaid accounts run through MySchoolBucks, which supports low-balance alerts and auto-replenishment. Checks are payable to "Webster Food Services," one per building. Questions about dietary modifications go to the Food Service Office, 585-670-5104.

The paperwork that will bite you

Immunizations. The district's line is blunt: students whose immunization records are not in compliance "will not be permitted in school." All students need DPT, DT or DTaP; hepatitis B; MMR; polio; and varicella. Grades 6 through 12 need one dose of Tdap. Meningococcal is one dose for grades 7 through 11 and two doses in grade 12. UPK adds Hib and pneumococcal. Medical exemptions only, on the state health department's form, approved by the district physician and renewed annually. Free immunizations are available at the Monroe County Department of Public Health, 111 Westfall Road, 585-753-5150.

Physicals. Health appraisals are required for all new entrants and for students in PreK, K, and grades 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11. New York now requires the exam on the state School Health Examination Form, and the district says it is no longer permitted to accept other forms. An exam dated on or after Sept. 1, 2025 meets the requirement and should reach the school health office within 30 days of attendance. For Section V sports in grades 7 through 12, the exam must be dated on or after Aug. 1, 2025.

Over-the-counter medication. The district flags this one itself as an important change. Administering an over-the-counter product in a school health office now requires both a written order from a licensed health care provider and written parental consent.

Registration. Registration for 2026-27 is open online through Infinite Campus. No deadline is published, which is a reason to do it now rather than later. The registration office is at 119 South Avenue, 585-216-0029, weekdays 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

PreK and kindergarten. The 2026-27 PreK lottery closed March 13, and applications filed after that go to a waitlist. The district opened this year's application window in mid-February, so families with a 4-year-old should start watching for next year's announcement around then. For kindergarten, a child must be 5 years old on or before Dec. 1 to be eligible to register, and a child who turns 6 on or before Dec. 1 is required to attend instruction that September.

What is actually new this year

Four new administrators. The district hired four this summer, most of them replacing retirees. Chris Callahan, a Webster graduate who started in the district in 2010 and had been Spry's principal since 2023, is now assistant superintendent for human resources. That move is why Spry opens the year with an interim principal, Jacqueline Goodwine, an assistant principal at Webster Schroeder since 2014. Jenna Felice joins Spry as assistant principal, from Penfield. Chris Golamb is the new director of health, physical education and athletics for Webster Thomas and Willink.

A water safety notice you have not seen before. A new state law, Education Law section 926, took effect July 1 and requires districts to give parents and guardians information on drowning prevention, water safety and safe and healthy swimming at the beginning of the school year. Webster is posting the state health department's "Safe Swimming Tips for Everyone" card under District, then Legal Notices, on its website.

Replacing a lost student ID badge is free once, then $10. Each student gets one free replacement if a badge is lost or damaged. Every additional replacement is $10. The district suggests a backpack clip or lanyard.

The student code of conduct. The board took up a revised 2026-27 student code of conduct at its Aug. 18 meeting. As proposed, it would define the unauthorized use of "artificial intelligence ('AI') technology or tools" as a form of academic dishonesty; add language stating that the dress code does not limit a student's ability "to wear certain protective hairstyles (including but not limited to braids, locks, and twists)"; and require a building principal or designee to notify local law enforcement of code violations that constitute a crime and substantially affect school order or security, no later than the close of business the day they learn of it. Those provisions are described here as proposed because the Ledger has not confirmed what the board did with the revision on Aug. 18. Whatever version the board adopts is the one that governs, once the district posts it.

Phones, in year two

The phone rule is not new, but it gets reported as new every August. New York's statewide bell-to-bell restriction on smartphones took effect in September 2025. Webster's implementing policy, Policy 7316, was approved by the board and took effect last school year.

What it means for a student starting sixth grade who has never lived under it: personal internet-enabled devices stay put away for the entire school day. The newsletter spells out the span, from the opening homeroom bell through classes, study halls, lunch, recess and passing time. The district writes about the policy in the past tense, as a settled part of the school day rather than a change coming this fall.

Dates to mark

The first board meeting of the school year is Tuesday, Sept. 8 at 5 p.m. The board normally meets in the second-floor professional development center at Spry Middle School, 119 South Avenue, unless the agenda notes otherwise, so check the agenda before you go. Meetings are livestreamed and archived at websterschools.org/boemeetings. Anyone who wants to speak should fill out the online speaker form linked at websterschools.org/boemeetings. Families who are unable to complete the form can contact District Clerk Heather Murphy at 585-216-0001 or heather_murphy@webstercsd.org.

From the district calendar, with the district's own caveat that dates are subject to change and that families should plan vacations around test days:

• Oct. 9: Superintendent's Conference Day, no school
• Oct. 12: No school
• Nov. 11: No school
• Nov. 19, 20, 23 and 24: PreK-5 parent-teacher conferences, half days
• Nov. 25 to 27: No school
• Dec. 23 to Jan. 1: No school
• Jan. 18: No school
• Jan. 26 to 28: Regents exams
• Feb. 15 to 19: No school
• March 11, 12, 18 and 19: PreK-5 parent-teacher conferences, half days
• March 22 to 26: No school
• April 14 and 15: Grades 3-8 ELA testing
• April 28 and 29: Grades 3-8 math testing
• May 18: Annual budget vote and board election
• June 14: Last day of classes, grades 9-12
• June 21: Last day of classes, grades 6-8
• June 22: Last day of classes, PreK-5

Eight of those days are half days, four in November and four in March, all of them PreK-5 conference days. That is worth putting on a childcare calendar now.

That list is not the whole school year. The district calendar carries additional non-attendance days, several of which apply only to certain grade levels, and a parent planning the full year should work from the district's published 2026-27 calendar, printed on page 13 of the Back to School newsletter.

Two things parents look for every fall are not on that calendar at all. The district's published calendar carries no marking-period end dates and no report card dates, and open house and orientation dates are set building by building rather than published district-wide. For both, watch ParentSquare and your child's school.

Numbers and links

• Supply lists, one district-wide document: 2026-27 school supply lists
• Registration: websterschools.org/registration, 585-216-0029
• Transportation: 585-265-3840
• Food Service: 585-670-5104
• District Clerk and board meetings: 585-216-0001, websterschools.org/boemeetings
• Monroe County Department of Public Health immunization clinic: 585-753-5150

AI tools were used in drafting and research.