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′46.39″N 77°25′18.84″W / 38.9295528°N 77.4219000°W / 38.9295528; -77.4219000 Rachel Carson Middle School website is a middle school in Floris,^[1] unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia, United States, near Herndon. The school is part of Fairfax County Public Schools. Its new principal is Gordon Stokes, after the June retirement of long-standing principal August Frattali. Opened in the 1998-1999 school year, it is named after the biologist Rachel Carson and was a School To Watch in Virginia in 2004, 2007, and 2010.^[2][3]

Due to its location and the fact that it has an AAP (Advanced Academics Program) program,^[4] students come from an assortment of elementary schools, and graduate to a variety of high schools. Students attend either Westfield High School, Chantilly High School, Oakton High School, South Lakes High School, or other private schools as their high school. For students who qualify, Carson also consistently sends more students to TJHSST than any other school.^[5] Elementary school feeders include Floris, Crossfield, McNair, Fox Mill, Hunters Woods, Coates,^[6] 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.^[7] Carson also has an array of 11 solar panels which help provide the school with electricity, installed in 2010 by its Going Green club.^[8] The school has 11 teams. All-Stars, Trailblazers, Champions, Dream Team, Legacy, and Majestic for 7th graders. Wolves, Voyagers, X-treme Team, Yellow Jackets (known for a short time as the Challengers), and the Dolphinz 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.

James Fenimore Cooper Middle School

38°57′5.16″N 77°11′29.81″W / 38.9514333°N 77.1916139°W / 38.9514333; -77.1916139

James Fenimore Cooper Middle School (Region: 1; Grades: 7-8, website), in McLean, is a public school established in 1962 and named after the author James Fenimore Cooper. The school's principal is Arlene Randall. Most students go on to attend Langley High School while 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.^[9] Feeder schools include Great Falls, Forestville, Colvin Run, Churchill Road, and Spring Hill Elementary. A small portion of students come from Franklin Sherman Elementary. The school day begins at 7:40 AM and ends at 2:30 PM.^[10]

Books-A-Million has a business partnership with the school, having given its 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. Another program at Cooper is Mobile Team Challenge, 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.

As of the 2016-2017 school year, Cooper Middle school offers an AAP (advanced placement) program. Every student is given the AAP test in second grade, but only a few make it. Since it now offers the program, more and more students have been coming to Cooper out of schools such as Churchill Road Elementary School. Also, you can no longer go from Churchill to Longfellow, you must go to Cooper.

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."

Teams are organised by grade like high school sub-schools. The school has three eighth grade teams (Flames, Monarchs, Patriots) and three seventh grade teams (Dukes, Rams, and Tribe).

Franklin Middle School

38°54′39.8″N 77°25′17.45″W / 38.911056°N 77.4215139°W / 38.911056; -77.4215139

Franklin Middle School (Region: 5; Grades: 7-8, website) is a public school in Chantilly. It was founded in 1984, is named after Benjamin Franklin and was originally called Franklin Intermediate School. The original name the school had was Ormond Stone Middle School. In the early 2000s the name was changed to the current Franklin Middle School.

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

A total of 48% of teachers have a bachelor's degree, 52% have a master's degree, 0% have a doctorate degree. There is 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′16.39″N 77°16′18.8″W / 38.8378861°N 77.271889°W / 38.8378861; -77.271889

Robert Frost test scores for the 2015-2016 school year.

SOL Test	Percent Passing
Grade 7 English: Reading	93.7%
Grade 7 Math	90.5%
Grade 8 English: Reading	92.7%
Grade 8 Science	94.3%
Grade 8 English: Writing	89.3%
Grade 8 Math	92.6%

Robert Frost Middle School (Region: 5; Grades: 7-8, website) 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. Every year, around 30 students test into Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology.

Frost's student body was 1154 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, whilst Cavaliers, Endeavor, Atoms, and Explorers are not.

Robert Frost Middle School has been recognized with the Governor’s Award of Excellence from 2010, 11 and 12, as well as the Virginia Board of Education Distinguished Achievement Award in 2013. In 2013 Frost Middle 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, 10, 11, 12 13. 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 of the week, 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. The activities include:

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

Frost is also 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 entire Seekers team at Frost. Scalia's grandson was a student there at the time. Later in 2011, the Justice Scalia gave another lecture to the Seekers team; his granddaughter being there at that time.

Ellen Glasgow Middle School

38°50′15.91″N 77°8′28.74″W / 38.8377528°N 77.1413167°W / 38.8377528; -77.1413167

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 may 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.^[11] Glasgow also offers a Spanish Immersion program for students who have participated in an elementary school immersion program. Some students may pupil place into Glasgow for the Immersion programs.

Many students opt to stay after school on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays to participate in extracurricular activities. Students have the option of participating 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. They also have the opportunity to participate in various sports or games clubs. Students who demonstrate leadership skills and are creative can also run for the Student Government Association (SGA), in which they decide 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 2nd grading quarter ended.

Hayfield Secondary School

38°45′2.89″N 77°8′27.82″W / 38.7508028°N 77.1410611°W / 38.7508028; -77.1410611

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 Spring 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′6.43″N 77°23′32″W / 38.9684528°N 77.39222°W / 38.9684528; -77.39222 Herndon Middle School (Region: 1; Grades: 7-8) is a school in Herndon. It feeds into Herndon High School. It consists of 8 different academic teams. As of the 2014-2015 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 except for 3rd which they have every day. 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 Ms. 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, although recent 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′47.3″N 77°9′50.03″W / 38.813139°N 77.1638972°W / 38.813139; -77.1638972 Oliver Wendell Holmes Middle School (Region: 2; Grades: 6-8, website), 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 Ms. Margaret Barnes

Holmes' 2014-15 student body of 956 was 20.5% African American, 19% White, 20% Asian, 37% Hispanic, and 2.6% Other.^[12]

Holmes Middle School was founded in 1966. In 1991, additional construction was started. In 2004, a whole 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.

These elementary schools feed into Holmes: North Springfield Elementary School (Springfield address), Weyanoke Elementary School (Alexandria address), Columbia Elementary School, Parklawn Elementary School and Bren Mar Park Elementary

Holmes' 788 students move on to Annandale High School in Fairfax County's Annandale community. A few Holmes students attend Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, a magnet school with an Alexandria address.

Langston Hughes Middle School

38°56′9.28″N 77°20′19.96″W / 38.9359111°N 77.3388778°W / 38.9359111; -77.3388778

Langston Hughes Middle School (Region: 1; Grades: 7-8, website), 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 the first year, and part of the second year of the school's history. The mascot is the panther, while 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 in conjunction with South Lakes, and is also part of the "Model Campus" of South Lakes and Terraset Elementary school. All three schools share the same track, fields, etc.

There are seven teams (students are grouped into teams where kids on a specific team generally have the same core teachers) at Hughes. The seventh grade teams are named Comets, Super Nova, and Gamma Rays. Eighth grade teams are named Lasers, Stars, and Galaxy. There is one eighth and seventh grade team, the Meteorites.

Washington Irving Middle School

38°46′57.81″N 77°10′47.33″W / 38.7827250°N 77.1798139°W / 38.7827250; -77.1798139

Washington Irving test Scores for the 2005-2006 school year:

SOL Test	Percent Passing
Grade 7 English: Reading	92%
Grade 7 Math	62%
Grade 8 English: Reading	90%
Grade 8 Science	96%
Grade 8 English: Writing	97%
Grade 8 Math	89%

Washington Irving Middle School (Region: 4; Grades: 7-8, website) is a public school located in Springfield. It feeds into West Springfield High School. Some elementary schools that feed into Washington Irving Middle School are 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 Team). 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. There is a 95% attendance rate.

The school has a chorus, 3 bands, and 3 orchestras: Beginning Band/Cadet, Concert 1, Concert 2, Concert Orchestra. Philharmonic Orchestra, and Symphonic Orchestra.

Luther Jackson Middle School

38°52′9.48″N 77°13′38.51″W / 38.8693000°N 77.2273639°W / 38.8693000; -77.2273639

Luther Jackson Middle School (Region: 2; Grades: 7-8), located southwest of Falls Church and 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 DC.^[13]

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. Its mascot is a tiger and their colors are red and black/white.

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

Luther Jackson Middle School has a strong and growing drama department led by Stacey Jones and already has a strong music department. The 2013 Musical was 'Willy Wonka' while the 2014 musical was 'Mulan'. ^[14]

Francis Scott Key Middle School

38°46′47.63″N 77°9′41.98″W / 38.7798972°N 77.1616611°W / 38.7798972; -77.1616611

Francis Scott Key test scores for the 2005-2006 school year

SOL Test	Percent Passing
Grade 7 English: Reading	81%
Grade 7 Math	36%
Grade 8 English: Reading	78%
Grade 8 Science	82%
Grade 8 English: Writing	93%
Grade 8 Math	76%

Francis Scott Key Middle School (Region: 3; Grades: 7-8, website) is a public school in Springfield that feeds into Robert E. Lee High School.

Key's 2014-2015 student body of 887 is 40.92% Hispanic, 24.13% Asian, 17.93% White, 12.85% Black, and 4.17% Other.^[15]

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. There is 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′9.44″N 77°13′29.55″W / 38.9026222°N 77.2248750°W / 38.9026222; -77.2248750

Joyce Kilmer Middle School (Region: 2; Grades: 7-8, website) 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 both 7th and 8th graders. Some include 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. Also, the Kilmer Symphonic Orchestra, led by conductor Marci Swift, has been recognized as one of the best middle school orchestras in the state.^[16] In addition to its band program it 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, 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′9.34″N 77°15′52.61″W / 38.8025944°N 77.2646139°W / 38.8025944; -77.2646139

Lake Braddock Secondary School is a combined junior-high and high school in Burke administered by Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS). 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 its school colors are purple and gold.

Sidney Lanier Middle School

38°51′32.91″N 77°19′41.26″W / 38.8591417°N 77.3281278°W / 38.8591417; -77.3281278 Sidney Lanier Middle School (Region: 5; Grades: 7-8) is located in Fairfax. Lanier's principal is Erin Lenart and most of the students who go to Lanier move on to Fairfax High School. There are 9 teams in total. For 7th Grade: Patriots, Spartans, Captains and Hokies. For 8th Grade: Eagles, Hornets, Highlanders and Cavaliers. The mascot for Lanier is the Eagle. In 7th grade for Math you can do Mathematics 7, Mathematics 7 HN or Algebra 1 HN. In 8th grade for Math you can do Mathematics 8, Algebra 1, Algebra 1 HN or Geometry HN. Lanier has 4 Orchestra's;Beginning Orchestra, String Ensemble, Concert Orchestra and Chamber Orchestra. Lanier also has a Band Program. It has the Beginning Band, Intermediate Band, Cadet Band, Percussion Ensemble, Symphonic Band and the Wind Ensemble.

Liberty Middle School

38°48′14.82″N 77°25′12.27″W / 38.8041167°N 77.4200750°W / 38.8041167; -77.4200750

Liberty Middle School (Region: 4; Grades: 7-8, website) is one of the feeder middle schools for Centreville High School. They are both 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. Also, 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), Liberty Middle School demographics is 77% White, 3% Black, 12% Asian, 7% Hispanic, and 1% Indian.

There are eight teams in the school. In 7th grade there is the Patriots, Pride, Navigators, and the All Stars. In 8th grade there is the Rockets, Wizards, Eagles, and the Comets.^[17]

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Middle School

38°54′35.47″N 77°10′21.91″W / 38.9098528°N 77.1727528°W / 38.9098528; -77.1727528

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Middle School (Region 2; Grades: 7-8, website), 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, one cafetorium, and a lecture hall. It also has a small basement and a two-room "mini mod." The school recently completed major renovations, with an entire wing of the building being added to the school.The principal is Carole Kihm. She 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.^[18]

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, History, etc. and also classes for those students who require a 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 called "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 things they should know how to do in their house 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 titled Beginner Band, Cadet Band, Concert Band, Wind Ensemble, and Symphonic Band, where 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 quite 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. In addition, 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 took home 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".^[19]

In early 2009, Longfellow Middle School introduced a new academic activity called "Lancer Time," a 23-minute period at the end of the day, which is intended to give students time to get help from their teachers without having to stay after school. During this period, 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 certain 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 their students beginning in third grade to take an end-of-year exam known as the Standards of Learning test, or SOL, that covers all of the knowledge learned during the school year.

School currently 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. It also known for educating worldwide celebrity, Jared Leto, actor and front man of the band 30 Seconds to Mars, as well as Northern Virginia socialites and "Lasar Wolfes", Claudia Reutemann and Julia Block.

Edgar Allan Poe Middle School

38°49′11.76″N 77°11′17.53″W / 38.8199333°N 77.1882028°W / 38.8199333; -77.1882028

Edgar Allan Poe Middle School (Region: 2; Grades: 6-8, website) is named after the 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.^[20]
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.^[20]

James W. Robinson, Jr. Secondary School

38°49′5.14″N 77°18′26.49″W / 38.8180944°N 77.3073583°W / 38.8180944; -77.3073583

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 William Robinson, Jr.

Robinson opened its doors in September 1971, taking its students from Oakton High School, Wilbert Tucker Woodson High School, West Springfield High School and Fairfax High School. Robinson 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, however 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′31.44″N 77°24′30.79″W / 38.8754000°N 77.4085528°W / 38.8754000; -77.4085528

Rocky Run Middle School (Region: 5; Grades: 7-8) as of September 2006, accommodates 819 students.^[21] 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, and Mosby Woods. The school primarily feeds into Chantilly HS, but because of the many elementary schools that feed into it, there are also many students going 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 8 teams at Rocky Run, 4 per grade. On the seventh grade side, there are the Stars, the Patriots, the Capitals, and the Nationals. On the eighth grade side, there are the Liberty, the Trailblazers, the Eagles, and the Freedom. In September 2016, the school added another team, United, which accommodates both 7th and 8th grade students.

Carl Sandburg Middle School

38°43′41.61″N 77°3′27.79″W / 38.7282250°N 77.0577194°W / 38.7282250; -77.0577194

Carl Sandburg Middle School (Region: 3; Grades 7-8) is located south of Alexandria. In 1985, Fort Hunt High School was renamed Carl Sandburg Middle School. Carl Sandburg'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′21.42″N 77°14′25.86″W / 38.7226167°N 77.2405167°W / 38.7226167; -77.2405167

South County Middle School is located in Lorton. It opened in September 2012 as a stand-alone middle school with a capacity of 1,350 students on a 40-acre site.^[22] 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.^[23] The school mascot is the Mustangs, and the school colors are green, blue, and burgundy.

Ormond Stone Middle School

38°51′31.05″N 77°27′12″W / 38.8586250°N 77.45333°W / 38.8586250; -77.45333

Ormond Stone Middle School (Region: 5; Grades: 7-8) on Stone Road, named after the Ormond Stone, opened in 1991.

Henry David Thoreau Middle School

38°53′18.88″N 77°14′19.91″W / 38.8885778°N 77.2388639°W / 38.8885778; -77.2388639 Henry David Thoreau Middle School (Region: 1; Grades: 7-8), is located east of Vienna.

Thoreau is a feeder school for James Madison High School and George C. Marshall High School. Additionally, 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. 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 an option.

Mark Twain Middle School

38°47′21.78″N 77°6′53.5″W / 38.7893833°N 77.114861°W / 38.7893833; -77.114861

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.^[24] The school is named after the famous writer Mark Twain.

Twain students are assigned to teams of approximately 125 students. 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 percent Asian, 18 percent black, 22 percent Hispanic, 40 percent white, 5 percent other.^[25]

Walt Whitman Middle School

38°49′38.1″N 77°5′16.4″W / 38.827250°N 77.087889°W / 38.827250; -77.087889

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 famous poet Walt Whitman. Its mascot is the Wildcat.

Recently, 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.^[26]

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