Lewis-Palmer School District 38 opens its doors to most students on Wednesday, Aug. 12. Eighth graders wait a day longer, and Monument Academy starts its youngest children a day ahead of the district. The principal start dates, bell schedules, fees and deadlines are below.
There is no single first day of school in the Tri-Lakes this year. Children start on one of three days depending on their grade and their school, and Bear Creek Elementary divides its kindergarten class across two of them. Families with children at more than one level should read the dates twice.
| Date | School / group | Who starts |
|---|---|---|
| Tue., Aug. 11 | Monument Academy | Preschool, pre-K and kindergarten |
| Wed., Aug. 12 | District 38 | Grades PK–7 and 9–12 — the main first day |
| Wed., Aug. 12 | Monument Academy | Grades 1–5 and 6–12 |
| Thu., Aug. 13 | Lewis-Palmer Middle School | 8th graders |
| Thu., Aug. 13 | Bear Creek Elementary | Preschool and pre-K; second half of kindergarten |
| Fri., Aug. 14 | Bear Creek Elementary | Not a first day — the first day the whole kindergarten class attends together |
| Wed., Sept. 9 | Home School Enrichment Academy | Middle and high school |
| Thu., Sept. 10 | Home School Enrichment Academy | Grades K–5 |
| Fri., May 14 | District 38 and Monument Academy | Last day for students, 2027 |
The Elementary Schools
Lewis-Palmer School District 38 runs five elementary schools, all serving kindergarten through sixth grade. Four of them — Bear Creek, Lewis-Palmer, Palmer Lake and Kilmer — also house preschool and pre-K programs; Prairie Winds does not. Preschool is for children who turn 3 by Oct. 1 and pre-K for those who turn 4 by that date. Grades one through six start Wednesday, Aug. 12.
| School | Grades K–6 | Drop-off from | Preschool / pre-K |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bear Creek | 8:55 a.m. – 3:55 p.m. | 8:40 a.m. | AM preschool 8:30–11:15 · PM pre-K 12:00–3:45 · full-day pre-K 8:50–3:50 |
| Lewis-Palmer | 8:55 a.m. – 3:55 p.m. | 8:40 a.m. (first bell 8:50) | AM preschool 8:30–11:15 · pre-K 12:00–3:45 |
| Palmer Lake | 8:45 a.m. – 3:55 p.m. | 8:35 a.m. | Offered; hours not published |
| Prairie Winds | 8:55 a.m. – 3:55 p.m. | 8:40 a.m. (first bell 8:40) | None |
| Ray E. Kilmer | Does not publish daily hours on its website. | ||
Kindergarten is the exception, and it is the detail most likely to catch a family out. Bear Creek’s calendar splits its kindergarten class in two: half attend Wednesday, Aug. 12, the other half Thursday, Aug. 13, and the whole class is together for the first time on Friday, Aug. 14. The school says the assignments went out to families over the summer. Bear Creek is the only elementary that has published such an arrangement, so parents of incoming kindergarteners at the other four schools should confirm with the office which day their child starts.
Preschool families should also take their date from their own school. The district calendar counts PK among the students starting Aug. 12, while Bear Creek’s calendar lists preschool and pre-K as starting Aug. 13, with a “Warm Welcome” session on the 12th.
| Date | Time | Event |
|---|---|---|
| Tue., Aug. 11 | 1–3 p.m. | Bear Creek Open House. New families at 1:00, returning families at 2:00. 1330 Creekside Dr. |
| Tue., Aug. 11 | 2–3 p.m. | Palmer Lake “Popsicle Pop-IN.” 115 Upper Glenway. |
| Wed., Aug. 12 | 8:35 a.m. | Palmer Lake: meet your teacher on the playground before the first bell. |
| Aug. 25 & 26 | School day | Bear Creek picture days. |
| Wed., Aug. 26 | 5:30–7 p.m. | Prairie Winds Back to School Night. 790 E. Kings Deer Point. |
| Thu., Aug. 27 | 5:30–7 p.m. | Back to School Night at the other four elementaries — Bear Creek, Lewis-Palmer, Palmer Lake and Ray E. Kilmer, all the same evening. |
Not every school posts its own events. Lewis-Palmer, Prairie Winds and Ray E. Kilmer list nothing for August on their individual pages, but all three appear on the district-wide events calendar, which is the more complete listing and the one to check.
Lewis-Palmer Middle School
Lewis-Palmer Middle School takes seventh and eighth grade, and it deliberately separates their first days. The school explains the gap in its own back-to-school notice: “To help alleviate some of the first day of school jitters of being in a new school, 7th graders start a day earlier than 8th graders.” The younger year gets the building, and its own schedule, to itself for a day.
| Date | Time | What |
|---|---|---|
| Tue., Aug. 11 | Noon–3 p.m. | Makeup check-in, for anyone who missed Aug. 3 or 4. No photographer. |
| Wed., Aug. 12 | Doors 7:00, bell 7:20 | First day, 7th grade only. |
| Thu., Aug. 13 | Doors 7:00, bell 7:20 | First day, 8th grade. All students now in. |
| Fri., Aug. 14 | School day | Photos and student IDs for anyone who used the makeup check-in. |
| Tue., Aug. 25 | 5–6:30 p.m. | Back to School Open House. |
| Period | 7th grade | 8th grade |
|---|---|---|
| Access period | 7:10–7:20 | 7:10–7:20 |
| Homeroom | 7:20–7:45 | 7:20–7:45 |
| Period 1 | 7:48–8:40 | 7:48–8:40 |
| Lunch | 10:33–11:03 | 11:28–11:58 |
| Period 7 ends | 2:40 p.m. | 2:40 p.m. |
Seventh and eighth grade run the same schedule apart from lunch. Full schedule: LPMS bell schedules.
One requirement is new this year and worth checking before the 12th. Colorado has moved its Tdap vaccination requirement from sixth-grade entry to seventh, beginning with this school year. According to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, a student entering seventh grade needs one of three things on file: an immunization record showing an adolescent Tdap dose given on or after their tenth birthday, an in-process catch-up plan signed by their health care provider, or a complete Certificate of Medical or Nonmedical Exemption. Students who had the shot at sixth-grade entry last year do not need another. A student with none of those documents must be denied attendance under state rules.
The High Schools
Lewis-Palmer and Palmer Ridge both start Wednesday, Aug. 12, and both run a block schedule built the same way. Lewis-Palmer opens the year on an Orange day; Palmer Ridge on a Navy day.
| Lewis-Palmer | Palmer Ridge | |
|---|---|---|
| Zero hour | 6:45–7:33 | — |
| Access period | 7:20–7:40 | 7:20–7:40 |
| First period | 7:40–9:14 | 7:40–9:09 |
| Advisory | — | Bear Time 10:48–11:14 |
| Lunches | 11:07–11:37 or 12:48–1:18 | 11:19–11:49 or 12:53–1:23 |
| Dismissal | 2:52 p.m. | 2:52 p.m. |
Students take the lunch their third-period teacher takes on an Orange or Navy day, and their seventh-period teacher’s on a Black or Gold day.
| Date | School | Event |
|---|---|---|
| Thu., Aug. 6 | Palmer Ridge | Processing Day — required for student IDs and photos, arrival windows by grade and surname. Freshman parent meeting 6–7 p.m. |
| Fri., Aug. 7 | Palmer Ridge | Freshman “Bear Bash” orientation 9 a.m.–2 p.m. New-student orientation, grades 10–12, 2–3 p.m. |
| Mon., Aug. 10 | Lewis-Palmer | Freshman orientation and check-in, 8 a.m. to about 1:30 p.m. Lunch provided. |
| Tue., Aug. 11 | Lewis-Palmer | Check-in: sophomores 8–10 a.m., juniors 10 a.m.–noon, seniors 1–3 p.m. New students attend with their grade. |
| Wed., Aug. 12 | Both | First day of school. |
| Fri., Aug. 14 | Lewis-Palmer | Senior Sunrise, Don Breese Stadium. |
| Sat., Aug. 15 | Palmer Ridge | Club Fair and Navy and Gold Dance, 5–10 p.m. |
| Wed., Aug. 19 | Lewis-Palmer | Back to School Night, begins 5:45 p.m. Parents only. The district calendar gives an end time of 7:15 p.m.; the school’s own dates list says 7:30. |
| Fri., Aug. 21 | Both | Palmer Ridge Senior Sunrise, 6 a.m. Lewis-Palmer’s first home football game, freshman tailgate 5:30 p.m. |
| Wed., Aug. 26 | Palmer Ridge | Back-to-School Night, 6–8 p.m. |
Both schools caution that their published date lists are provisional. Lewis-Palmer’s important dates list carries a note that every entry is tentative and directs families to the weekly Sunday Messages. Palmer Ridge’s dates to remember carries the same caution, and its school calendar is the more current of the two.
Monument Academy
Monument Academy, the district’s charter school, runs two campuses: West, at 1150 Village Ridge Point in Monument, for preschool through fifth grade, and East, at 4303 Pinehurst Circle, for grades six through twelve. It opens a day ahead of the district for its youngest children, and it runs four full days and a short Friday.
| Campus and grades | First day | Mon–Thu | Friday |
|---|---|---|---|
| West — preschool and pre-K | Tue., Aug. 11 | 8:05 a.m.–3:15 p.m. | 8:05 a.m.–12:15 p.m. |
| West — kindergarten | Tue., Aug. 11 | 8:05 a.m.–3:15 p.m. | 8:05 a.m.–12:15 p.m. |
| West — grades 1–5 | Wed., Aug. 12 | 8:05 a.m.–3:15 p.m. | 8:05 a.m.–12:15 p.m. |
| East — grades 6–12 | Wed., Aug. 12 | 7:50 a.m.–3:30 p.m. | 7:50 a.m.–12:30 p.m. |
Even with the short Fridays the school logs more instructional time than the state requires: 1,056 elementary contact hours against a 990-hour minimum, and 1,117 secondary hours against 1,080. Source: Monument Academy 2026-27 calendars.
| Date | Time | Event |
|---|---|---|
| Fri., Aug. 7 | 12:30 p.m. | West Campus parent town hall, MPR. Schedules and teacher assignments also become available today. |
| Mon., Aug. 10 | 8–11 a.m. | West meet & greet: preschool, kindergarten, 1st and 2nd grade. |
| Mon., Aug. 10 | Noon–3 p.m. | West meet & greet: 3rd, 4th and 5th grade. |
| Mon., Aug. 10 | 8:30 a.m.–noon | East meet & greet, middle school: 6th grade 8:30–9:30, 7th 9:45–10:45, 8th 11–noon. Teachers are available only during their grade’s slot. Uniforms not required. |
| Mon., Aug. 10 | 1–3 p.m. | East meet & greet, high school, all grades. Ice cream social 2:15–3. |
| Tue., Aug. 11 | 9 a.m.–noon | New-student orientation, middle school. All 6th graders and anyone new to 7th or 8th. Students only. |
| Tue., Aug. 11 | 1–3 p.m. | New-student orientation, high school. All freshmen and anyone new to the school. Students only; dress code applies. |
| Tue., Aug. 25 | 5:30–6:15 or 6:30–7:15 p.m. | Back to School Night, West Campus — kindergarten, 2nd and 4th grade. Parents only. |
| Wed., Aug. 26 | 5:30–6:15 or 6:30–7:15 p.m. | Back to School Night, West Campus — 1st, 3rd and 5th grade. Parents only. |
| Thu., Aug. 27 | 6–8 p.m. | Back to School Night, East Campus — middle and high school. Parents only. |
One administrative note catches charter families every year. Households approved for free or reduced-price meals through District 38 must tell Monument Academy separately. The school says the district does not share approval lists with it, so any fee reduction depends on families notifying the business office themselves.
The Home School Enrichment Academy
D38’s Home School Enrichment Academy, which provides enrichment classes to homeschooled students from kindergarten through twelfth grade, keeps a calendar of its own and starts nearly a month after everyone else. Middle and high school students begin Wednesday, Sept. 9; K–5 students begin Thursday, Sept. 10. The program is free to enrolled families, requires full-day attendance and does not permit dual enrollment in other state-funded programs. A new facility is due this fall. Its full-year calendar is posted separately from the district’s.
Buses, Meals and Paperwork
The July 31 deadline to reserve a seat on a bus has passed; later applicants are considered through a waiting list. Stop assignments post Tuesday, Aug. 11 on Infinite Campus, and the district warns that route times already visible in the SMART tag app are provisional — the Infinite Campus version is the final one.
| Item | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Bus, per rider | $300 | Unlimited rides. Charged for the first three children in a family; additional siblings free on request. |
| Bus, east of Highway 83 | $150 | That area is served by consolidated stops. |
| Bus punch card | $65 | 20 rides, from September, at the transportation building, 99 E. Santa Fe Ave. |
| SMART tag replacement badge | $5 | Badges are required for every rider. |
| Elementary breakfast and lunch | Free | Free for all elementary students. |
| Middle and high school lunch | $4.85 | Breakfast, where served, $2.95. |
Families who qualify for free or reduced-price meals have the bus fee waived entirely. Details: transportation · nutrition services. Transportation office (719) 488-4711; nutrition services (719) 488-4726.
The free and reduced-price meals application for 2026-27 is open now, online or on paper at any school office or at 146 N. Jefferson St. A new application is required every year, whatever last year’s outcome.
Paperwork has largely moved online. D38 now uses an Annual Update through the Infinite Campus parent portal in place of most of the forms families used to complete by hand. Anyone who has not finished it can print the required forms from their school’s back-to-school documents page and hand them in at check-in or at an elementary open house.
The Rest of the Year
The first long weekend arrives quickly, and elementary families should note that their calendar is the thinnest of the three. The board-approved calendar, adopted Dec. 15, 2025, gives elementary students 160 contact days against 165 for middle school and 166 for high school.
| Date | Who is off |
|---|---|
| Fri., Sept. 4 | All grades — staff work day |
| Mon., Sept. 7 | All grades — Labor Day, district closed |
| Mon., Sept. 21 | All grades — staff work day |
| Fri., Oct. 2 | PK–6 only |
| Thu., Oct. 8 | PK–8 — conferences |
| Oct. 9 and Oct. 12 | All grades — fall break |
| Fri., Oct. 30 | PK–6 only |
| Fri., Nov. 13 | PK–6 only |
| Nov. 23–27 | All grades — Thanksgiving break |
| Dec. 18 – Jan. 5 | All grades — winter break. Last day before break is Thu., Dec. 17; students return Wed., Jan. 6. |
| Mar. 22–26 | All grades — spring break |
| Fri., May 14 | Last day for students |
Dec. 18 and April 26 are marked alternative make-up days: students are scheduled to be off, but the district can reclassify them as school days if snow days are used.
Lewis-Palmer High School is currently scheduled to graduate Tuesday, May 18, 2027 at 10 a.m. at the World Arena, with Palmer Ridge the same day at 2 p.m. Monument Academy’s high school graduation is tentatively set for Saturday, May 15. All three schools label their year-end schedules provisional.
Sources & further reading
District 38 calendars: District calendar page · District events calendar · Printable 2026-2027 academic calendar (approved Dec. 15, 2025) · District back-to-school page · Home School Enrichment Academy calendar
School calendars: Bear Creek Elementary · Lewis-Palmer Elementary · Palmer Lake Elementary · Prairie Winds Elementary · Ray E. Kilmer Elementary · Lewis-Palmer Middle School · Lewis-Palmer High School · Palmer Ridge High School
Bell schedules and school hours: Bear Creek hours and lunch schedule · Prairie Winds arrival and departure · Lewis-Palmer Middle School bell schedules · Lewis-Palmer High School block calendar and bell schedule · Palmer Ridge block calendar and bell schedules
Monument Academy: 2026-27 yearly calendars for elementary, secondary and preschool · Monthly event calendar · West Campus back-to-school events · Middle school back-to-school events · High school back-to-school events
Buses, meals and health: 2026-27 bus transportation information · Nutrition services and meal costs · Free and reduced-price school meals · Preschool eligibility and enrollment · Colorado immunization requirements to attend school, K-12