LMSD Welcomes Back Students for the 2026-27 School Year!

Four smiling young girls with backpacks and lunchboxes stand in the foreground, with a brick building and a blurred figure in the background.

Sep 8 2026

The halls are full, classrooms are buzzing and a new school year is officially underway in Lower Merion School District!

On Tuesday, September 8, approximately 8,600 students returned to LMSD’s eleven schools for the first day of the 2026–27 school year. Across the District, students reconnected with friends and teachers, settled into new classrooms and kicked off the year with school tours, class assemblies, icebreakers, get-to-know-you activities and plenty of catching up after summer vacation.

From first-day smiles and reunions with friends to the excitement of meeting new teachers and classmates, Opening Day offered plenty of reminders of what makes the start of a new school year so special. We wish all of our students, staff and families a happy, healthy and successful year ahead!

We also invited families to help capture the excitement by sharing their own first-day photos on social media using #LMSD1stDay. We’re gathering this year’s submissions now, so be sure to check back throughout the week for the community slideshow and even more Opening Day photos as they become available!

In the meantime, explore our Opening Day slideshows from across the District, including photos from Harriton, Lower Merion, Bala Cynwyd, Black Rock, Welsh Valley, Belmont Hills, Merion, Penn Valley and Penn Wynne at the links below. More slideshows coming soon!