Prince William County Public Schools (PWCS) is a school division in Virginia with its headquarters in the Kelly Leadership Center located in the unincorporated community of Independent Hill in Prince William County, Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population of the county was 486,943.
Prince William County Public Schools is the second largest school division in Virginia with 91,180 students. Prince William County Public Schools is the fourth largest school system in the Washington Metropolitan Area after the Fairfax County, Virginia; Montgomery County, Maryland; and Prince George's County, Maryland school systems, and the 33rd largest school system in the United States.
The county system serves all parts of the county except for Marine Corps Base Quantico, which is served by the Department of Defense Education Activity. - Text list - "Quantico Marine Corps Center School District" is a reference to the Department of Defense Education Activity as that agency operates the base schools.
Administration
Superintendent The Superintendent of Prince William County Public Schools is Dr. LaTanya D. McDade, replacing Dr. Steven Walts. She is the first woman and the first African-American superintendent in the district's history. Prior to her appointment in 2021, she was the Chief Education Officer for Chicago Public Schools. In 2024, she was selected as Virginia Region IV Superintendent of the Year.
School Board Prince William County Public Schools is governed by the Prince William County School Board. The school board is composed of eight elected members. One member is elected by the citizens of each of the seven magisterial districts also used to elect the Prince William Board of County Supervisors, while the Chairmen At-Large is elected by all citizens in the county. A Vice Chair is elected by the school board members each January. School board members serve four-year terms, with the next election being held in November 2023.
+Board MembersBabur B. LateefChairman At-LargeLisa A. ZargarpurVice Chairwoman Coles DistrictErica C. TredinnickBrentsville DistrictJennifer T. WallGainesville DistrictTracy L. BlakeNeabsco DistrictRichard M. JessieOcooquan DistrictJustin David WilkPotomac DistrictLoree Y. WilliamsWoodbridge District
Two non-voting student representatives are selected each school year to serve and provide input from a student's perspective on decisions made by the school board. A Student Senate is made up of one student from each high school who applied for the student representative position. They work together with the student representatives to advise the school board.
Schools High schools Battlefield High School Brentsville District High School Charles J. Colgan Sr. High School Forest Park High School Freedom High School Gainesville High School Gar-Field High School Hylton High School Osbourn Park High School Patriot High School Potomac High School Unity Reed High School Woodbridge High School
Middle schools Louise A. Benton Middle School Stuart M. Beville Middle School Bull Run Middle School Fred M. Lynn Middle School Gainesville Middle School Graham Park Middle School George M. Hampton Middle School (Formerly Mills E. Godwin Middle School) Lake Ridge Middle School Emlyn H. Marsteller Middle School Parkside Middle School Potomac Middle School Potomac Shores Middle School Ronald Wilson Reagan Middle School Rippon Middle School Herbert J. Saunders Middle School Unity Braxton Middle School (formerly Stonewall Middle School; renamed during the George Floyd protests) Woodbridge Middle School
Traditional Schools (K-8) The Nokesville School Pennington Traditional School Mary G. Porter Traditional School
Elementary schools James W. Alvey Elementary School Antietam Elementary School Ashland Elementary School Bel Air Elementary School Belmont Elementary School Maitland C. Bennett Elementary School Bristow Run Elementary School Buckland Mills Elementary School Cedar Point Elementary School Chris Yung Elementary School Coles Elementary School Covington-Harper Elementary School Dale City Elementary School Dumfries Elementary School Suella Gilbert Ellis Elementary School Enterprise Elementary School Featherstone Elementary School Fannie W. Fitzgerald Elementary School Glenkirk Elementary School Samuel L. Gravely Elementary School Haymarket Elementary School Alexander Henderson Elementary School Innovation Elementary School John D. Jenkins Elementary School Kerrydale Elementary School R. Dean Kilby Elementary School Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School Lake Ridge Elementary School Leesylvania Elementary School Loch Lomond Elementary School Thurgood Marshall Elementary School Marumsco Hills Elementary School Sharon C. McAuliffe Elementary School Minnieville Elementary School Montclair Elementary School Mountain View Elementary School Mullen Elementary School Neabsco Elementary School Occoquan Elementary School Old Bridge Elementary School John F. Pattie Sr. Elementary School Sonnie P. Penn Elementary School Piney Branch Elementary School Potomac View Elementary School River Oaks Elementary School Rockledge Elementary School Rosa Parks Elementary School Signal Hill Elementary School Charles A. Sinclair Elementary School Springwoods Elementary School Sudley Elementary School Swans Creek Elementary School T. Clay Wood Elementary School Triangle Elementary School George Grayson Tyler Elementary School Elizabeth Vaughan Elementary School Victory Elementary School Washington-Reid Elementary School West Gate Elementary School Westridge Elementary School Mary Williams Elementary School Kyle R. Wilson Elementary School Yorkshire Elementary School
Other
Prince William County provides an "alternative" school service for what they deem as "troubled teens". Students who become pregnant, sell or use drugs, write graffiti, have general behavioral issues or are prone to violence are usually sent to learn together in the same facility, regardless of their base school. The PACE program targets students with more extreme cases of psychological issues.
Independent Hill School/PACE East, special education school for middle & high school students New Directions Alternative School, special school for students who are not successful in their base school New Dominion Alternative School, special school for middle school students PACE West, a special education school providing services to students with serious emotional and behavior problems Pennington Traditional School, a school for first through eighth graders [Formerly a high school, grades 9-12] Porter Traditional School, specialty school for first through eighth graders Woodbine Preschool Center, a center for preschool-aged children with developmental disabilities East End Alternative, now defunct. Previously located at a Woodbridge Boys and Girls Club. The student body was migrated to Pennington Alternative School in the mid-1990s.
Future Schools
"Woodbridge Area" Elementary School is set to open for the 2025–26 school year
Schools of excellence Prince William County Public Schools honors schools as Schools of Excellence based on a variety of criteria, including: performance targets; Adequate Yearly Progress under the No Child Left Behind Act; Virginia Wellness Tests; school attendance rates; and parent, student, and teacher satisfaction. The Virginia state Standards of Learning (SOL) tests for both students on grade level and students below grade level are also considered. In 2006, the criteria were adjusted to reflect the continuous improvement of the system's schools.
School administration and staff are presented with a commemorative flag, a plaque, and a check to be used at the school's discretion. Schools receive $1,000 for each year the School of Excellence designation is obtained.
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009201020112012201320142015 Elementary 13 10 28 40 32 23 22 27 35361632373830 Middle 0 2 7 12 9 0 0 0 2306550 High 2 2 7 5 4 4 1 1 2100012 Other 0 1 0 1 1 1 2 1 2222222 Total 15 15 42 58 46 28 25 29 41421840444634
See also List of school divisions in Virginia
References
External links Prince William County Public Schools School Directory Official Website of Prince William County Government