The question comes up at almost every showing I do with families relocating to Arlington: "What school will my kids go to?"

It sounds simple. It is not simple.

Arlington County is one public school district — Arlington Public Schools (APS) — but within that district, address determines everything. Depending on where you buy, your kids could land in very different elementary, middle, and high schools. And unlike Fairfax County, where the geography is predictable, Arlington's boundaries can shift block by block.

After 14 years of helping families buy homes across North Arlington, I've learned to look up school assignments before we write an offer — not after. Here's what you need to know.

Arlington Has One District, Three High School Boundaries

Arlington County is entirely served by Arlington Public Schools (APS). There is no separate Falls Church City school district confusion here (that's next door), no county-vs-city split. One district, one central administration, one School Board.

But APS has three high schools, and your address sends your child to exactly one of them:

Washington-Liberty High School — North Arlington (22207, 22205, parts of 22201)

Yorktown High School — Mid-Arlington, west side (22213, 22205, parts of 22207)

Wakefield High School — South Arlington (22206, 22204, most of 22202)

Washington-Liberty and Yorktown are the two schools that draw the most buyer questions. Both rank well, both offer IB programs and strong AP offerings. Wakefield, which serves South Arlington, has been on an upward trajectory and has a strong arts and technical education program.

The practical truth: Homes in the Washington-Liberty zone (zip 22207 and parts of 22205) command a meaningful premium over comparable homes in other zones. This isn't about quality so much as perception — North Arlington buyers often want that specific assignment.

The Middle School Picture

APS has four middle schools:

Dorothy Hamm Middle School — primarily North Arlington (22207, 22205)

Swanson Middle School — central and west Arlington (22213, 22205)

Kenmore Middle School — south and central Arlington (22206, 22204)

Gunston Middle School — South Arlington (22206, 22204)

Dorothy Hamm feeds primarily into Washington-Liberty. Swanson feeds into Yorktown. Kenmore and Gunston feed into Wakefield.

Elementary Schools: Where It Gets Granular

APS runs 22 elementary schools across the county. Unlike the high school zones, which roughly track by zip code, elementary boundaries can cut across neighborhoods, streets, and sometimes individual blocks.

A few key ones by area:

North Arlington (22207)

Jamestown Elementary — Donaldson Run and Williamsburg neighborhood cluster

Tuckahoe Elementary — Berkshire, Old Dominion area

Taylor Elementary — Dover-Crystal corridor, Sleepy Hollow adjacent

Nottingham Elementary — Bellevue Forest, Cherrydale edges

Glebe Elementary — Old Glebe Road corridor, Chain Bridge Road area

Central Arlington (22201, 22203, 22205)

Ashlawn Elementary — Lyon Village, Lyon Park

McKinley Elementary — Boulevard Manor, Buckingham area

Discovery Elementary — Clarendon / Virginia Square area

Arlington Science Focus School — countywide magnet (application-based)

South Arlington (22204, 22206)

Abingdon Elementary — Aurora Hills, Crystal City adjacent

Barcroft Elementary — Green Valley, Barcroft

Claremont Elementary — Shirlington area

This is not a complete list — APS has 22 elementary schools total. And critically, boundaries change. APS periodically redraws school assignment zones, particularly when new schools open or enrollment projections shift.

How to Look Up Your Exact School Assignment

The only reliable method: use the APS online school finder.

Go to: aps.k12.va.us → click "Schools" → "Find My School"

Enter any Arlington street address and it returns the current elementary, middle, and high school assignment. This tool pulls from the live boundary database — it's the same tool the School Board uses.

When I'm working with buyer clients, I run this lookup on every address before we schedule a second showing. Not because I assume a school zone makes or breaks the deal, but because it's information families deserve to have upfront.

What to watch for:

Some addresses near zone boundaries can show unexpected assignments — even one block can matter

If you're buying in a new development or a recently redrawn area, double-check with APS directly

Boundary changes are typically announced in the fall for the following school year

Specialty Programs and Magnets

APS also runs several countywide specialty programs that accept students regardless of home address:

Arlington Science Focus School (ASFS) — elementary, application-based STEM focus

Arlington Traditional School (ATS) — elementary, traditional academic model, long waitlist

H-B Woodlawn Secondary Program — grades 6–12, progressive learning model, highly regarded

Langston Program at Hoffman-Boston — primary grades focus

H-B Woodlawn in particular has a devoted following. Families sometimes specifically target neighborhoods near the program even though it's open-enrollment — for the practical reality that proximity matters when kids are commuting on their own.

The IB Question

All three high schools offer International Baccalaureate programs:

Washington-Liberty — IB Diploma Programme (grades 11–12) and Middle Years Programme

Yorktown — IB Diploma Programme

Wakefield — IB Diploma Programme

The IB programs are school-based, not countywide magnets — meaning you access them by attending the assigned school. This has reduced the pressure that used to concentrate heavily on Washington-Liberty for IB access.

What School Zone Means for Pricing

Here's the practical reality for buyers:

North Arlington (22207) — Homes here carry the Washington-Liberty / Dorothy Hamm premium. This is Candee's primary transaction market for a reason: it's where families pay up for the combination of neighborhood character, lot sizes, and school assignments. Median in 22207 runs $1.1–1.4M for single-family homes.

Mid-Arlington (22205, 22213) — Yorktown and Swanson zone. Often meaningfully less expensive than 22207 with comparable school quality. Buyers who want strong schools at a lower price point consistently find strong value here.

South Arlington (22204, 22206) — Wakefield zone. Largest price gap from North Arlington. But Wakefield has been improving steadily, and South Arlington has some of the county's most walkable neighborhoods and strongest community character.

My advice to every family I work with: look at the actual schools, not just the zone reputation. Arlington invests heavily across all three high school attendance areas. The gap is real in some metrics and overstated in others.

Before You Make an Offer: Do These Three Things

Run the APS school finder on the specific address — not the zip code, not the neighborhood, the address.

Check for any pending boundary reviews — APS posts these on their website and announces public comment periods. If a boundary change is in process, know which way it's trending.

Visit the school — APS allows prospective families to schedule tours. It takes 30 minutes and tells you more than any ranking website will.

School assignments matter. So does the home, the neighborhood, the commute, and the price. My job is to make sure you have the full picture before you sign anything.

Candee Currie is a licensed real estate agent with TTR Sotheby's International Realty in Arlington, VA. She has been a resident of Arlington for over 30 years and has closed transactions throughout Arlington County, McLean, Falls Church, and Alexandria. If you're relocating to the area and want to understand the neighborhood + school district landscape before you search, reach out directly.

[Contact Candee](https://candeecurriehomes.com/contact) | [Search Homes in Arlington](https://candeecurriehomes.com/search)

Arlington VA School Districts: Which Elementary, Middle, and High School Zone Will Your Family Be In?