List of Fairfax County Public Schools middle schools

This list of Fairfax County Public Schools middle schools encompasses public middle schools operated by the Fairfax County Public Schools school district of Virginia, United States.

One middle school, Lanier Middle School, is located in the city of Fairfax. The others are located in incorporated and unincorporated areas in Fairfax County.

Rachel Carson Middle School

38°55′38″N 77°25′10″W / 38.92722°N 77.41944°W / 38.92722; -77.41944

Rachel Carson Middle School^[1] is a middle school in Floris,^[2] unincorporated Fairfax County, in Herndon. It is part of Fairfax County Public Schools. Its new principal is Gordon Stokes, after the retirement of long-standing principal August Frattali. Opened in the 1998-1999 school year, it is named after the biologist Rachel Carson and was named a "School To Watch in Virginia" in 2004, 2007, and 2010.^[3][4]

Volunteers planted over 1,400 trees around the school in 2008.

Due to its location and the fact that it has an AAP (Advanced Academics Program) program,^[5] students come from an assortment of elementary schools, and graduate to a variety of high schools. Students go on to attend Westfield High School, Chantilly High School, Oakton High School, South Lakes High School, or other private schools. For students who qualify, Carson consistently sends more students to TJHSST than any other school.^[6] Elementary school feeders include Floris, Crossfield, McNair, Fox Mill, Hunters Woods, Coates,^[7] Poplar Tree, and also Lees Corner, Oak Hill, Waples Mill, Navy, and Dogwood as part of its AAP program.

In November 2008, volunteers helped plant more than one thousand trees around the school.^[8] Carson has an array of 11 solar panels which help provide the school with electricity, installed in 2010 by its Going Green club.^[9]

The school has 12 teams; the All-Stars, Trailblazers, Champions (previously known as Crusaders), Dream Team, Legacy, and Majestics for 7th graders; and Explorers, Wolves, Voyagers, X-treme Team, Yellow Jackets (known for a short time as the Challengers), and Dolphins for 8th graders. During the 2015-16 school year, these teams were changed to a number system, with the lettered name system being more widely used by students and staff. The school mascot is a panther.

There are many semester and year-long electives, including semester and Advanced Drama, directed by Joshua Bickford, multiple art courses, Computers in Art, Home Economics, Technology Education, orchestra, band, chorus and percussion. There are also language courses, including Spanish, French, and Japanese.

Each year the school puts on two theatrical productions: one in fall run by Advanced Drama students, and one in May that all students may participate in.

James Fenimore Cooper Middle School

38°57′8″N 77°11′31″W / 38.95222°N 77.19194°W / 38.95222; -77.19194

James Fenimore Cooper Middle School^[10] (Region 1; grades 7-8) in McLean, is a public school established in 1962 and named after the author James Fenimore Cooper. Its principal is Arlene Randall.

Most students go on to attend Langley High School; a minority are accepted to Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria.

Cooper serves the communities of McLean and Great Falls as well as certain parts of Vienna, Reston and Herndon.^[11] Feeder schools include Great Falls, Forestville, Colvin Run, Churchill Road, and Spring Hill Elementary. A few students come from Franklin Sherman Elementary.

The school day begins at 7:30 AM and ends at 2:15 PM.^[12]

Books-A-Million has a business partnership with the school, and has given books for the school's book fair.

The school offers a partial-Japanese language immersion program for those who have taken the language in elementary school.

The Mobile Team Challenge is an experiential team-building low ropes course designed to support the learning and emotional environment for the students.

Seventh-grade students have access to several electives. Half-year electives include Theatre, Family and Consumer Sciences 7, Journalism, Creative Writing, Computer Solutions, Digital Input Technologies, Technology Exploration 7, Art Foundations, and Computers in Art (Only after Art Foundations). Additionally, they can take basic language courses as semester electives, which include Spanish I Part A, French I Part A, and German I Part A. If they take one of these courses, they can take the "Part B" version of the language as a full year in eighth grade. Full year electives include Chorus, Band, and Orchestra. Students who participated in partial Japanese Immersion at Great Falls Elementary School are given the option of taking Japanese Immersion 7 as a full year.

Eighth graders have access to many of the same electives, as well as several more course options. Half-year electives include Family and Consumer Sciences 8, Journalism, Creative Writing, Computer Solutions, Digital Input Technologies, Technology Exploration 8, and Art Foundations. Full year electives include Peer Helping, Chorus, Band, and Orchestra. If recommended by the theatre teacher, eighth grade students can take Advanced Theatre as a full year elective. Eighth graders who took Journalism in seventh grade can take Advanced Journalism as a full year. If eighth graders took Art Foundations in seventh grade, they can take 3D Art Exploration as a half year. If recommended by the art teacher, eight graders can take Art Extensions as a full year. Eighth graders also have access to several language electives, all of which are full years, which include Spanish I, French I, German I, and Japanese I. Students may participate in Japanese Immersion 8 if they took Japanese Immersion 7 the year prior. Eighth graders also have the option of taking Spanish, French, and German Part B as full years if they took their language's "Part A" course in 7th grade.

Cooper Middle school offers an AAP program. Since Cooper has become an AAP center, students living in the Langley pyramid are no longer allowed to attend Longfellow and Kilmer Middle School.

Cooper Middle School's newspaper, The Hawkeye, was first published in 1962 and as of 2010, has made the transition to a news-magazine. The Hawkeye is written by Cooper's 150+ journalism students. The magazine is edited and designed by an Advanced Journalism class which also designs the Pathfinder, Cooper's award-winning yearbook, and the Glimmerglass, Cooper's literary magazine. In the 2015-2016 school year, Advanced Journalism students began designing a news website, which features publications from Journalism, Advanced Journalism, and Broadcast Journalism students.

Cooper's Theatre Department produces one musical and two plays a year under the direction of the theatre teacher, Meg Baber. The 2016–2017 school year's fall production was Attack of the Zombies. The winter play was The Mousetrap, and the spring musical was Spamalot. The 2017–2018 school year's fall production was "Nooses Off. The winter play was Ken Ludwig's Baskerville, and the spring musical was The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

Teams are organized by grade like high school sub-schools. The school has three eighth grade teams (Denali, Everglades, Yellowstone) and three seventh grade teams (Acadia, Sequoia, and Shenandoah).

Franklin Middle School

38°54′25″N 77°25′13″W / 38.90694°N 77.42028°W / 38.90694; -77.42028

Franklin Middle School^[13] (Region 5; grades 7-8) is a public school in Chantilly. It was founded in 1984, and is named after Benjamin Franklin. Its previous names were Franklin Intermediate School and Ormond Stone Middle School. In the early 2000s the name was changed to Franklin Middle School.

The school feeds into Chantilly High School, Oakton High School, and Westfield High School. It has 1053 students.

48% of teachers have a bachelor's degree, 52% have a master's degree, and 0% have a doctorate degree. The school has a 97% attendance rate.

There are eight teams at Franklin. Four are 7th grade teams, and four are 8th grade teams. The school mascot is a falcon.

Robert Frost Middle School

38°50′11″N 77°16′24″W / 38.83639°N 77.27333°W / 38.83639; -77.27333

Robert Frost Middle School^[14] (Region 5, grades 7-8) is a public school named after the poet Robert Frost and located southeast of Fairfax.

Most students feed into Frost from Fairfax Villa Elementary School, Oak View Elementary School, Olde Creek Elementary School, Little Run Elementary School, Canterbury Woods Elementary School, Wakefield Forest Elementary School, Mantua Elementary School, Annandale Terrace Elementary School, Braddock Elementary School, and North Springfield Elementary School. Not all students from these schools attend Frost.

Most students feed into W. T. Woodson High School for grades 9-12, but some feed into Annandale High School or Falls Church High School. Every year, around 30 students test into Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology.

Frost had 1154 students during the 2015-2016 school year. During the same school year, 12.13% of the student body received free/reduced-priced meals, and 5.03% were classified as having limited English.

Frost has a AAP center (FCPS Advanced Academic Program). There are eight teams at Frost: four in the seventh grade (Cavaliers, Voyagers, Endeavor, Travelers) and four in the eighth grade (Atoms, Explorers, Galaxy, Seekers). Travelers, Voyagers, Galaxy, and Seekers are in the AAP, while Cavaliers, Endeavor, Atoms, and Explorers are not.

Robert Frost Middle School was recognized with the Governor's Award of Excellence in 2010, 2011, and 2012, and with the Virginia Board of Education Distinguished Achievement Award in 2013. In 2013 the school was recognized with the G.O.L.D.E.N. Wellness Award, as well as the Healthier U.S. School Challenge Bronze Award. The Virginia Music Educators' Association awarded Frost Middle School their Blue Ribbon from 2009 through 2013. Frost has been frequently ranked among the best middle schools in Virginia.

As with many other middle schools in the area, chorus, orchestra and band classes take a trip to an amusement park, such as Busch Gardens or Kings Dominion near the end of the year.

Extracurricular activities occur every day, with late buses offered on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Students have the option to stay after school on Tuesdays and Fridays, but they must have a ride home. Activities include:

All students at Frost are required to do community service (Service Learning Project) each quarter. Seventh graders must complete a number of hours for the school year, and eighth graders must complete 15–20 hours for the school year. Several teachers provide things for the students to do, and students may also choose to volunteer at a homeless shelter, soup kitchen, or similar.

Frost is the site of Capital One's Junior Achievement Finance Park at Fairfax County. Eighth graders from neighboring schools often take field trips here.

In 2007, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia gave a lecture to the Seekers team at Frost. His grandson was a student there at the time. In 2011, Scalia gave another lecture to the Seekers team; his granddaughter was then a student there.

Ellen Glasgow Middle School

38°50′17″N 77°08′26″W / 38.83806°N 77.14056°W / 38.83806; -77.14056

Ellen Glasgow Middle School (Region 2, grades 6-8) is part of the Fairfax County Public School system. It was named for the novelist Ellen Glasgow. The school's mascot is the panther.

The majority of the students feed into J.E.B. Stuart High School in Falls Church. A few students feed into other local high schools such as Annandale High School and Falls Church High School. Students have the option of testing for Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, and each year around ten students are offered admission to TJHSST.

Students at Glasgow participate in the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Program (IBMYP), and work towards earning an International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma in high school.^[15] Glasgow also offers a Spanish Immersion program for students who have participated in an elementary school immersion program. Some students place into Glasgow for the immersion programs.

Many students opt to stay after school on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays to participate in extracurricular activities. They participate in various academic teams such as Girls Engineering in Math and Science (GEMS), Science Olympiad, and Math Counts. NJHS (National Junior Honor Society), a service club, is also available, but only for the eighth grade. Various sports and games clubs are available. Students who demonstrate leadership skills and creativity can also run for the Student Government Association (SGA), which decides upcoming events for the school. Elections for representatives take place at the beginning of the year, while elections for officers, such as president, vice president, secretary, or treasurer, take place at the end of the year, for the following year.

On January 29, 2008, Glasgow students moved to a new building, built behind the old one. It was originally scheduled to be moved into during winter break, but it was changed until after the second grading quarter ended.

Hayfield Secondary School

38°45′0″N 77°8′39″W / 38.75000°N 77.14417°W / 38.75000; -77.14417

Hayfield Secondary School is a secondary school, meaning it serves grades 7 through 12, but the high school and middle school students are generally kept segregated. The middle school has an honors (formally GT) program, and the high school offers both honors and Advanced Placement courses.

As of the spring of 2007, the number of exams on which a score of 3 or higher was achieved (on a scale of 1-5) rose to 57% from 46% the previous year, the best results found on record for Hayfield.

Herndon Middle School

38°58′05″N 77°23′31″W / 38.96806°N 77.39194°W / 38.96806; -77.39194

Herndon Middle School (Region 1, grades 7-8) is in Herndon. It feeds into Herndon High School.

The school has eight academic teams.

As of the 2017-2018 school year, the school uses an odd-even schedule in which students go to even periods one day and odd the next, making each class 90 minutes. Students can choose from a variety of electives to complement their core classes.

The school offers several levels of classes including Honors Geometry, Honors Algebra, French, Spanish, Tech Education ("Shop"), art, and music education.

In 1995 the Herndon Middle School Band, under the direction of Noreen Liennemann, won the prestigious Sudler Cup, presented by the John Philip Sousa Foundation to honor middle school concert bands that have demonstrated high standards of excellence over a period of years.

It was constructed in 1952, and renovations have been made due to the growing population of the community. It includes a historic Cold War-era fallout shelter.

Oliver Wendell Holmes Middle School

38°48′54″N 77°9′48″W / 38.81500°N 77.16333°W / 38.81500; -77.16333

Oliver Wendell Holmes Middle School^[16] (Region 2, grades 6-8), also known as Holmes Middle School, is a public school with an Alexandria address but is outside of the city limits. It is part of the Fairfax County Public Schools system. It is named after the poet Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.. The current principal is Margaret Barnes.

Holmes' 2014–15 student body of 956 was 20.5% African American, 19% White, 20% Asian, 37% Hispanic, and 2.6% other.^[17]

Holmes Middle School was founded in 1966. In 1991, additional construction was started. In 2004, a new front area of the building was constructed including a new media center, office, and guidance office. That same year, Holmes became a member of the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Program.

North Springfield Elementary School (Springfield address), Weyanoke Elementary School (Alexandria address), Columbia Elementary School, Parklawn Elementary School and Bren Mar Park Elementary feed into Holmes.

Holmes' students move on to Annandale High School in Fairfax County's Annandale community. A few students attend Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, a magnet school with an Alexandria address.

Langston Hughes Middle School

38°56′7″N 77°20′18″W / 38.93528°N 77.33833°W / 38.93528; -77.33833

Langston Hughes Middle School^[18] (Region 1, grades 7-8), named for the African-American poet Langston Hughes, is a public school in Reston in unincorporated Fairfax County. The principal is Aimee Monticchio.

The school was established in 1979 as Langston Hughes Intermediate School and shared a building with South Lakes High School for its first year and part of the second. The mascot is the panther, and the school colors are navy blue and grey.

The school is built on the same floor plan as Rocky Run Middle School and feeds into South Lakes High School for grades 9-12. It is an International Baccalaureate Middle Years Program school, which is intended to precede South Lakes's IB curriculum, and is also part of the "Model Campus" of South Lakes and Terraset Elementary school. The three schools share the track and fields.

There are seven teams at Hughes, which group students by core teachers. The seventh grade teams are named Comets, Super Nova, and Gamma Rays. Eighth grade teams are named Lasers, Stars, and Galaxy. There is one combined seventh and eighth grade team, the Meteorites.

In 1998, a student-run prostitution ring was discovered at the middle school, leading to a police investigation. In March, a 13-year-old boy was convicted for organizing a sex-for-hire ring that involved a half dozen of his female classmates.^[19]

Washington Irving Middle School

38°46′54″N 77°13′30″W / 38.78167°N 77.22500°W / 38.78167; -77.22500

Washington Irving Middle School^[20] (Region 4, grades 7-8) is a public school located in Springfield. It feeds into West Springfield High School. Elementary schools that feed into Washington Irving Middle School include Cardinal Forest, Hunt Valley, Keene Mill, Orange Hunt, and Rolling Valley, Sangster, and West Springfield.

Irving is divided into eight teams: four seventh grade (yellow, green, orange, and blue) and four eighth grade (purple, black, white, and red). The team names switch every year. All the members on each team have the same teachers for their core classes: Science, English, Math, and History/Civics.

Irving's student body of 1019 is 62% White, 18% Asian, 9% Hispanic, 6% Black, 5% unspecified, and less than 1% Native American.

54% of teachers have a bachelor's degree, 44% have a master's degree, 3% have a doctorate degree. There are 28 students per teacher. The school has a 95% attendance rate.

The school has a chorus, three bands, and three orchestras: Beginning Band/Cadet, Concert 1, Concert 2, Concert Orchestra. Philharmonic Orchestra, and Symphonic Orchestra.

Luther Jackson Middle School

38°52′06″N 77°13′44″W / 38.86833°N 77.22889°W / 38.86833; -77.22889

Luther Jackson Middle School (Region 2, grades 7-8), located southwest of Falls Church, is one of 26 public middle schools in the county. It opened in 1954 as Luther Jackson High School, the first all-black high school in Fairfax County. This gave Virginia African-American students a closer option than schools in Washington, D.C.^[21]

In 1965, when the county was integrated, the school was designated as Luther Jackson Intermediate School, which eventually changed to Luther Jackson Middle School. The school is named after Dr. Luther P. Jackson, an established historian and educator. The mascot is a tiger and the school colors are red and black/white.

The school has transitioned into a GT Center school to reduce overcrowding at Joyce Kilmer Middle School and Robert Frost Middle School. The school converted into an AAP center school.

The AAP center was an option for certain students zoned for either Jackson or Thoreau had a choice to go to Jackson Middle School or for the AAP center or Thoreau. In 2018, when redistricting occurred, kids zoned for Jackson Middle School as their base school were moved to Thoreau Middle School as their base school and had the option of still attending Jackson if they wanted the AAP center. As a result, Jackson used to have 3 high school feeders, Oakton High School, Madison High School or Falls Church High School.

Luther Jackson Middle School has a strong and growing drama department led by Stacey Jones, and has a strong music department. The 2013 musical was Willy Wonka and the 2014 musical was Mulan. ^[22]

Francis Scott Key Middle School

38°46′48″N 77°9′41″W / 38.78000°N 77.16139°W / 38.78000; -77.16139

Francis Scott Key Middle School^[23] (Region 3, grades 7-8) is a public school in Springfield that feeds into Robert E. Lee High School.

Key's 2014–2015 student body of 887 was 40.92% Hispanic, 24.13% Asian, 17.93% White, 12.85% Black, and 4.17% other.^[24]

A total of 41% of teachers have a bachelor's degree, 59% have a master's degree, and less than 1% have a doctorate degree. The school has a 96% attendance rate.

There are six teams at Key: three in the seventh grade (7A - The Adventurers, 7B - The Bulldogs, 7C - The Champs), and three in the eighth grade.

Joyce Kilmer Middle School

38°54′15″N 77°13′31″W / 38.90417°N 77.22528°W / 38.90417; -77.22528

Joyce Kilmer Middle School^[25] (Region 2, grades 7-8) is a public school named after the journalist and poet Joyce Kilmer.

The school feeds into James Madison High School, Oakton High School, George C. Marshall High School, Langley High School and McLean High School.

Kilmer has a GT program for students who have been determined to be "Gifted and Talented".

The school offers many electives for 7th and 8th graders, including Family And Consumer Sciences (Home EC), Drama, Tech Tools, Inventions and Innovations, Technological Systems, and Advanced Technology Tools.

Kilmer is also known for its outstanding band and orchestra program. Under the direction of conductor Brett Dodson, the Kilmer Symphonic band has been recognized as one of the best middle school bands in the state. The Kilmer Symphonic Orchestra, led by conductor Elizabeth Fogel and previously led by Marci Swift, has been recognized as one of the best middle school orchestras in the state.^[26] The school also has a chorus and string orchestra. The strings program offers violin, viola, cello, and bass.

48% of the teachers have a bachelor's degrees, and 52% have master's degrees. There are 19.5 students per teacher. There is a 97% attendance rate.

Kilmer's student body of 961 is 60% White, 21% Asian, 10% Hispanic, 5% unspecified, 4% Black, and less than 1% Native American.

Lake Braddock Secondary School

38°48′12″N 77°15′56″W / 38.80333°N 77.26556°W / 38.80333; -77.26556

Lake Braddock Secondary School is a combined junior high and high school in Burke administered by Fairfax County Public Schools. It is one of four secondary schools in Fairfax County, the other three being Hayfield Secondary School, Robinson Secondary School and South County Secondary School. Opened in 1973, Lake Braddock has recently completed an extensive renovation project. Its mascot is the bruin bear, and the school colors are purple and gold.

Sidney Lanier Middle School

38°51′36″N 77°19′38″W / 38.86000°N 77.32722°W / 38.86000; -77.32722

Sidney Lanier Middle School (Region 5, grades 7-8) is located in Fairfax. Lanier's principal is Erin Lenart. Most students who go to Lanier move on to Fairfax High School.

The school has six teams in total; for 7th grade: Patriots, Captains and Hokies; and for 8th Grade: Eagles, Highlanders and Cavaliers. Each team is named after a Virginia College mascot. Lanier's mascot is the eagle.

The school has four orchestras and four band programs.

Liberty Middle School

38°48′19″N 77°25′4″W / 38.80528°N 77.41778°W / 38.80528; -77.41778

Liberty Middle School^[27] (Region 4, grades 7-8) is one of the feeder middle schools for Centreville High School. They are located on the same road, less than two miles apart.

The school requires four core classes (Math, Science, History, and English) and P.E. for each student. Students can choose 2-4 electives (2 full year electives or 1 full year and 2 half semester electives or 4 half semester electives). However, some electives are only for a semester or quarter instead of a full year, in which case a student may take more electives.

Of 1100+ students (2006–2007), 77% were White, 3% were Black, 12% were Asian, 7% were Hispanic, and 1% were Indian.

The school has eight teams; in 7th grade there are the Patriots, Pride, Navigators, and All Stars; and in 8th grade there are the Rockets, Wizards, Eagles, and Comets.^[28]

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Middle School

38°54′34″N 77°10′27″W / 38.90944°N 77.17417°W / 38.90944; -77.17417

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Middle School^[29] (Region 2, grades 7-8), north of Falls Church, is a public school named after the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The school's mascot is the Lancer.

It is a two-story building with two gymnasiums, a cafetorium, and a lecture hall. It also has a small basement and a two-room "mini mod." The school has completed major renovations, including the addition of a new wing.

Carole Kihm became principal on May 19, 2008.

The student body in 2013–2014 had 1848 students and was 27% Asian, 55% White, 10% Hispanic, 2% Black, and 6% other.^[30]

Elementary schools that feed into Longfellow include Chesterbrook, Haycock, Kent Gardens, Franklin Sherman, and Timberlane. Additionally, some students come from Lemon Road, Westgate, Spring Hill, Colvin Run, and Churchill Road Elementary schools. Most of Longfellow's 1800 students go to McLean High School, but some go to Langley High School, Marshall High School, or Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology. In order to attend Thomas Jefferson, students must apply and be accepted, as it is a magnet school. In past years Longfellow has become a large contributor to the Thomas Jefferson population.

Longfellow Middle's classes include those for the average student, such as Science, Mathematics, and History, and also classes for those students who require higher-level education, such as Math Honors, both levels of Algebra, Geometry, Science Honors, and History Honors.

Longfellow Middle also provides classes for the mentally disabled, and has an entire after-school club devoted to entertaining these students, "Good Buddies".

Longfellow Middle also provides extra classes like Technology Education (referred to as "Shop" by students), where students learn the basics of using power tools to construct different types of objects; Home Education, where students learn basic home skills like cooking, sewing, and ironing laundry; and Journalism, where students are taught how to create newspaper articles and then publish them in the school's quarterly newspaper, the Longfellow Lead.

Longfellow Middle teaches five award-winning bands, Beginner Band, Cadet Band, Concert Band, Wind Ensemble, and Symphonic Band. Beginner is a class for beginning musicians and Symphonic is for musicians with at least two years of experience. The Wind Ensemble, Concert Band, and Symphonic Band regularly compete in annual competitions at Busch Gardens Williamsburg Amusement Park and Kings Dominion Amusement Park. At these competitions the musicians play pieces of music while a panel of judges critiques their sound and style. The Longfellow Bands have won several awards in these competitions, and in June 2017 the Wind Ensemble, Concert Band, and Symphonic Band all came home with 1st-place trophies and awards. At the annual District Assessment, the Longfellow Symphonic band has received a perfect score every year. Longfellow's orchestra is also renowned, with Longfellow's Chamber orchestra winning the Middle School Division at the 2012 National Orchestra Festival in Atlanta in addition to the many awards it has received at Busch Gardens Williamsburg Amusement Park. The bassoon section in the Longfellow Symphonic Band is an award-winning section, one of the best in the country.

The school has two gymnasiums, two playing fields, a basketball court, and a quarter mile gravel track, as well as a library, a lecture hall, and a Black Box theater.

After-school activities at Longfellow include basketball, theater productions, Quiz Bowl, Debate, Rocketry Club, Rubik's Cube Club, LED Club, Technology Student Association, Homework Club, Red Cross Club, Math Counts, Science Bowl, Science Olympiad, and Knowledge Masters/Quiz Bowl. The Longfellow Knowledge Masters team has been ranked as one of the top teams in the entire country and has received several first place awards. The Science Bowl and Quiz Bowl team both took second in 2012 at each respective national tournament, while its History Bowl team won first place. In 2012, Tajin Rogers from Longfellow won the first ever National History Bee, which was televised. Its 2017 Science Olympiad team finished 6th in the country, the highest placing of any Virginia Science Olympiad team at the national competition. The school has won many awards in mathematics and science, and is nationally ranked for its math department.

On March 13, 2008, Margaret Spellings, the United States Secretary of Education, visited the school to publish a review of the math education in the United States and to get rid of "fuzzy math".^[31]

In early 2009, Longfellow Middle School introduced a new academic activity called "Lancer Time," a 23-minute period at the end of the day, intended to give students time to get help from their teachers without having to stay after school. Students can also work on homework and projects from other classes. The period is also used one day a week to teach the students about values such as honesty and leadership, as well as introducing better study habits to help students prepare for their exams. Other classes, as well as hall passing time, were shortened to account for the new period.

Longfellow Middle School and other Fairfax County Schools require students, beginning in third grade, to take an end-of-year exam known as the Standards of Learning test, or SOL, that covers the content learned during the school year.

School begins at 7:30 and ends at 2:15.

Longfellow is one of the top feeder schools into the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJHSST), often with 60 or more representatives in the freshman class.

Longfellow Middle School has been honored several years in a row with the Governor's Award of Excellence.

Edgar Allan Poe Middle School

38°49′15″N 77°11′12″W / 38.82083°N 77.18667°W / 38.82083; -77.18667

Edgar Allan Poe Middle School^[32] (Region 2, grades 6-8) is named after author Edgar Allan Poe. Its mascot is the raven. Maria Eck is the principal.

Most students feed into Annandale High School or J.E.B. Stuart High School. A select few also test into Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology.

Poe's 881 students during the 2014–2015 school year were 49.04% Hispanic, 12.26% White, 24.29% Asian, 12.26% Black, and 2.16% unspecified.^[33]
During the same school year, 71.96% of the student body received free/reduced-priced meals and 34.73% were classified as having limited English.^[33]

James W. Robinson, Jr. Secondary School

38°48′59″N 77°18′10″W / 38.81639°N 77.30278°W / 38.81639; -77.30278

James W. Robinson, Jr. Secondary School, the largest school in the Commonwealth of Virginia, includes a middle school (grades 7-8) and a high school (grades 9-12), was named after Medal of Honor recipient James W. Robinson, Jr.

Robinson opened in September 1971, taking its students from Oakton High School, Wilbert Tucker Woodson High School, West Springfield High School and Fairfax High School. It was the second of Fairfax County's large "superschools," or secondary schools, which housed grades 7-12. Robinson's chief rival to the east, Lake Braddock, which opened in 1973, was the third of these schools from this era, the first of which was Hayfield, near Mount Vernon, which opened in 1969. The most recent addition to the series of secondary schools is South County in Lorton, which opened in 2005, taking its students from former Hayfield territory. With the opening of South County Middle School, the high school has since adopted "South County High School" as its official name.

Rocky Run Middle School

38°52′27″N 77°24′36″W / 38.87417°N 77.41000°W / 38.87417; -77.41000

Rocky Run Middle School (Region 5, grades 7-8) accommodates 1316 students as of June 2018.^[34] It is named after a creek that runs through the nearby neighborhood.

Being an AAP (FCPS Advanced Academics Program) magnet school, it is fed by many elementary schools, including Willow Springs, Brookfield, Bull Run, Greenbriar East, Greenbriar West, Poplar Tree, Colin Powell, London Towne, and Mosby Woods. The school primarily feeds into Chantilly HS, but because of the many elementary schools that feed into it, many students also go to Centreville, Fairfax, Westfield and Robinson high schools. The school is located on the borders of many suburban neighborhoods and is on the corner of Poplar Tree Road and Stringfellow Road, which has been recently widened.

There are ten teams at Rocky Run, five per grade. On the seventh grade side, there are the Stars, Patriots, Capitals, Spirit, and Nationals. On the eighth grade side, there are Liberty, Trailblazers, Eagles, United, and Freedom.

Carl Sandburg Middle School

38°43′43″N 77°3′43″W / 38.72861°N 77.06194°W / 38.72861; -77.06194

Carl Sandburg Middle School (Region 3, grades 7-8), named after poet Carl Sandburg, is located south of Alexandria. In 1985, Fort Hunt High School was renamed Carl Sandburg Middle School.

The school's planetarium has a Spitz A4 planetarium projector, a 30-foot-diameter (9.1 m) dome, and 76 seats.

South County Middle School

38°43′18″N 77°14′43″W / 38.72167°N 77.24528°W / 38.72167; -77.24528

South County Middle School is located in Lorton. It opened in September 2012 on a 40-acre site as a stand-alone middle school with a capacity of 1,350 students.^[35]

From 2005 to June 2012, 7th and 8th grade students were enrolled at South County Secondary School (now South County High School), which housed both middle and high school programs.^[36]

The school mascot is the mustang, and the school colors are green, blue, and burgundy.

Ormond Stone Middle School

38°51′27″N 77°27′17″W / 38.85750°N 77.45472°W / 38.85750; -77.45472

Ormond Stone Middle School (Region 5, grades 7-8) on Stone Road, named after astronomer Ormond Stone, opened in 1991.

Henry David Thoreau Middle School

38°53′20″N 77°14′25″W / 38.88889°N 77.24028°W / 38.88889; -77.24028

Henry David Thoreau Middle School (Region 1, grades 7-8), is located east of Vienna. It opened in 1960.

Thoreau is a feeder school for James Madison High School, George C. Marshall High School and Oakton High School. Because of the 2008 redistricting in Fairfax County, some of Thoreau's students (who previously lived in the James Madison High School district) were redistricted to Hughes Middle School and South Lakes High School. In 2018, due to new redistricting, some students were redistricted from Jackson Middle School to Thoreau Middle School.

The principal is Yusef Azimi.

Thoreau offers several advanced classes, including French 1, Spanish 1, Algebra 1, and Geometry. Thoreau's electives include Drama, Inventions and Innovations, Computer Solutions, Advanced Computer Solutions, Personal Development, Basic Skills, Family and Consumer Sciences, and Art. Students in both 7th and 8th grade are able to take honors classes for all core classes (foreign language is not included). Spanish and French are options.

Mark Twain Middle School

38°47′24″N 77°06′51″W / 38.79000°N 77.11417°W / 38.79000; -77.11417

Mark Twain Middle School (Region 3, grades 7-8), is located south of Alexandria. It is located in cluster 5 and feeds into Thomas A. Edison High School. The school has 837 students.^[37] The school is named after the writer Mark Twain.

Twain students are assigned to teams of approximately 125. Each team is coordinated by the four core teachers (from English, mathematics, science and social studies), a guidance counselor and an administrator. They are the Quasars, Thunderbirds, Superstars, Pathfinders, Mustangs, Patriots and Aces.

Mark Twain Middle offers the Gifted and Talented program, Special Education program, and ESOL.

As of June 2005, the school's racial/ethnic breakdown was 15% Asian, 18% black, 22% Hispanic, 40% white, and 5% other.^[38]

Walt Whitman Middle School

38°44′32″N 77°04′30″W / 38.74222°N 77.07500°W / 38.74222; -77.07500

Walt Whitman Middle School (Region 3, grades 7-8) is located in Alexandria. It primarily feeds into Mount Vernon High School. The school is named after the poet Walt Whitman. Its mascot is the wildcat.

Walt Whitman Middle School and Mount Vernon High School received a $1.25 million STEM (Science, Technology, Energy, and Mathematics) grant to provide the resources to promote critical thinking in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, English, reading, the arts, and history.^[39]

References