Summer Resources & Back-to-School Information – May 28, 2026

Posted May 28, 2026

Mark Your Calendars: Important McKinley-Thatcher Dates

Please mark your calendars for the following dates and events!

  • Main office CLOSES for 2025-2026 school year: 3:00 PM on Monday, June 1
  • Main office OPENS for 2026-2027 school year: Tuesday, August 11 
  • Online School Registration Window for McKinley: Tuesday, August 11 to Sunday, August 16
  • McKinley-Thatcher Open House: Thursday, August 20, 4:00 PM – 5:30 PM
  • First Day of School (K-5): Monday, August 24
  • First Day of School (ECE): Tuesday, August 25
  • Save-the-Date for Back-to-School Night: Thursday, September 17, 4:00 PM – 5:30 PM

McKinley-Thatcher’s 2026-2027 School Year Calendar

Please click here to see our school’s 2026-2027 school year calendar in English (PDF file). We will share translated versions of the calendar in August. 

Please note that we have four no school days that are specific to McKinley-Thatcher. These days are in addition to district-wide no school days, and are intended to provide our staff with extra professional development and planning time.

McKinley-Thatcher Staff Planning Days

These days are shown in yellow on the calendar linked above. 

  • Monday, November 2 – NO SCHOOL 
  • Friday, February 12 – NO SCHOOL 
  • Monday, March 1 – NO SCHOOL 
  • Monday, April 5 – NO SCHOOL 

Discovery Link: After-School Care for Families

Families may learn about and register for after-school care through our Discovery Link (DL) program on the DL website here. Once families are registered for DL, they may sign up for after-school care from 2:30 PM to 6:00 PM, Monday through Friday. 

For questions or more information about Discovery Link, please contact DL at (720) 423-1781 or Discovery_Link@dpsk12.org.

Summer Resources for Families

Denver Heath’s School-Based Health Centers will continue to see Denver Public Schools (DPS) students and their siblings for free at certain locations during the summer. The health centers offer free medical and dental care, run by Denver Health Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants. For more information, check out their summer flyer here (PDF file).

Please click here to see information about DPS’s Summer Food Service Program, which offers free breakfast and lunch to all children 18 and younger, Monday through Friday, over the summer months.

The City & County of Denver offers an additional summer food resource to children ages 3–18 through its Tasty Food Program. Children can enjoy free and wholesome meals and snacks at Tasty Food sites across Denver. No ID or registration required – please click here to see more information!

The City & County of Denver offers children ages 5–18 a key to the city with a MY Denver Card. Children with a MY Denver Card get free access to recreation centers, swimming  pools and various cultural facilities where they can participate in healthy, safe and fun activities after-school, during school and summer breaks, and on the weekends. Please click here to see more information! 

DPS has partnered with the Denver Public Library to provide summer literacy calendars for families! These calendars are designed to help you and your students practice literacy all summer long. Please click here to see literacy calendars for incoming (rising) kindergarten through 5th grade students in both English and Spanish. 

DPS’s Family & Community Engagement department is excited to invite district families to their redesigned 2026–27 Back-to-School Shopping Experience, a free, one-stop shopping experience where students can pick out grade-level backpacks and school supplies in a welcoming and stress-free environment. Shopping visits will take place by scheduled appointment during the week of August 10–14, 2026. Click here to register for your visit (Google form).

I Have Questions or Need More Information!

If you have questions or need more information, please contact our main office at (720) 424-5600 or McKinley_Thatcher@dpsk12.org. Please note, our main office closes for summer break at 3:00 PM on Monday, June 1 and will reopen for the 2026-2027 school year on Tuesday, August 11.