West Hartford Public Schools has announced the graduation date for the Class of 2026.

By Ronni Newton

West Hartford’s Conard and Hall high schools will both hold commencement ceremonies for the Class of 2026 on Thursday, June 11, 2026, Superintendent Paul Vicinus said Tuesday night, a decision approved unanimously by the Board of Education.

In past years, the date for graduation was not announced until April 1 to ensure that all snow days were taken into consideration, but the state changed the law several years ago to allow the date to be set earlier, so that families have adequate time to make plans, and once it’s set graduation does not need to be pushed off if there are additional snow days.

Beginning in 2022, the graduation date for West Hartford’s high schools was set in the fall, allowing time for advance planning students and their families, and that practice has continued. Both Conard and Hall will continue to have their graduations at the same time.

While the last day of school has already been set for Friday, June 12, 2026, “with safe grad we like to avoid graduation day on a Friday spilling over into the weekend,” Vicinus said Tuesday, noting that it’s a better experience to have the graduation followed by the all night safe grad event take place on a weekday. The decision was made not to bump graduation into the following week.

If there are snow days, the last day of school will be extended, but graduation will not change. Senior exams are typically held earlier than exams for underclassmen, and many seniors are not required to take final exams.

Like what you see here? Click here to subscribe to We-Ha’s newsletter so you’ll always be in the know about what’s happening in West Hartford! Click the blue button below to become a supporter of We-Ha.com and our efforts to continue producing quality journalism.