Bauxite schools set Aug. 11 opening after district’s July back-to-school announcement

BAUXITE, Ark. — Bauxite Public Schools will open the 2026-27 school year on Tuesday, Aug. 11, according to a district back-to-school announcement posted July 23.

The announcement gives Bauxite families and school employees several dates to put on their calendars. Students in grades 1 through 12 are scheduled for an open house on Thursday, Aug. 6, from 5 to 7 p.m. A separate kindergarten open house is scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 12, from 6 to 7 p.m.

Dates for families

The Aug. 6 event comes before the first day of classes and is the district’s listed open house for grades 1-12. Families with students in those grades can plan around the two-hour event, which begins at 5 p.m. and ends at 7 p.m.

The school year then begins Aug. 11. Kindergarten families have a separate event the next evening, Aug. 12, from 6 to 7 p.m. That timing means the kindergarten open house is not the districtwide first day of school; it is a distinct event listed for kindergarten families after classes begin.

For parents and students, the immediate planning point is to keep the three dates separate: the grades 1-12 open house on Aug. 6, the first day of the 2026-27 school year on Aug. 11, and the kindergarten open house on Aug. 12.

Calendar background

Bauxite Public Schools identified the update as part of preparations for the 2026-27 school year. The district’s official news page also publishes the approved 2026-27 school calendar and states that the Bauxite School Board approved it on Feb. 23, 2026.

The July 23 announcement does not establish that the calendar was changed. Instead, it provides the opening date and the two open-house dates currently listed by the district.

The available district page does not provide the full academic calendar beyond those opening and open-house events. It therefore does not establish additional dates for the school year, including dates that were not included in the announcement.

The next scheduled event in the posted sequence is the grades 1-12 open house on Aug. 6. The first day of school follows on Aug. 11, and the kindergarten open house is listed for Aug. 12. Families using the district’s back-to-school information should distinguish the general school opening from the separate kindergarten event.