Cardinal Elementary School, Arlington: zone and report card

Last checked Oct. 19, 2026. Sources: Cardinal Elementary, Arlington Public Schools, the Virginia Department of Education’s School Quality Profile and the federal NCES school directory.

Cardinal Elementary School is an Arlington Public Schools (APS) neighborhood elementary school. It sits at 1644 N. McKinley Road and serves pre-K through fifth grade.

Who to call

• Main office: 703-228-5280 (fax 703-237-3293)
• New to APS (registration): APS Welcome Center, 703-228-8000, option 1; 2110 Washington Blvd., first floor
• Buses and general questions: APS main line, 703-228-8000
• Which school serves an address: School and Community Relations, 703-228-6005

Principal

Principal Colin Brown, according to the school’s website.

Enrollment and teachers

• APS count: 672 students in kindergarten through fifth grade on Sept. 30, 2026, plus two in preschool programs, in APS’s official membership summary (PDF).
• State count: 690 students in fall 2025, after 682 in 2024 and 714 in 2023, in the School Quality Profile.
• Federal count: 714 students in the 2023-24 school year, with 45 full-time-equivalent teachers, according to the NCES directory. That works out to about 16 students per teacher.

State report card

Virginia’s School Performance and Support Framework scores each school on mastery on state tests, growth, readiness and graduation, according to APS’s framework page. Schools scoring 90 or more are Distinguished, 80 to 89 Meets Expectations, 65 to 79 Approaching Expectations and below 65 Needs Intensive Support.

• 2026-27 framework score: 100.2, rated Distinguished, with no federal identification, in the division summary (PDF).
• Accreditation: Fully Accredited

Standards of Learning pass rates (grades 3 to 5, share of tested students who passed), from the School Quality Profile:

Attendance zone

APS assigns neighborhood schools by home address. Check an address in the APS boundary locator or on the 2026-27 elementary boundary map (PDF).

Middle and high school: on APS’s boundary maps, the whole Cardinal zone lies in the Swanson Middle zone. About four-fifths of it is in the Yorktown High School zone and the rest in the Washington-Liberty zone.

Calendar and bell times

From the APS 2026-27 calendar:

• Wednesday, Oct. 28: early release, all schools
• Monday, Nov. 2: end of first quarter
• Tuesday, Nov. 3: no school for students (Election Day)
• Wednesday, Nov. 11: Veterans Day, no school
• Nov. 25-27: Thanksgiving break
• Dec. 23 to Jan. 1: winter break
• Thursday, March 18, 2027: early release; Friday, March 19: no school (parent-teacher conferences)
• March 22-26, 2027: spring break
• Thursday, June 17, 2027: last day of school, early release

The school day runs 9 a.m. to 3:50 p.m., with early release at 1:30 p.m., according to APS. Each elementary school holds a family information session between November and January; see the schedule.

More on Arlington schools

• Cardinal Elementary’s website and the APS schools and programs page
• Every public school in Arlington, with zones and state ratings

Frequently asked questions

What grades does Cardinal Elementary serve?

Pre-K through fifth grade. APS counted 672 students in kindergarten through fifth grade on Sept. 30, 2026, plus two in preschool programs.

How is Cardinal Elementary rated by the state?

It is fully accredited. In Virginia’s 2026-27 School Performance and Support Framework it scored 100.2 and is rated Distinguished, with no federal identification.

Which middle and high school does Cardinal Elementary feed into?

The whole Cardinal zone feeds Swanson Middle. About four-fifths of it lies in the Yorktown High School zone and the rest in the Washington-Liberty zone, on APS’s boundary maps.

What time does Cardinal Elementary start?

9 a.m. to 3:50 p.m., with early release at 1:30 p.m., according to Arlington Public Schools.