Wakefield High School, Arlington: zone, report card and calendar

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

Wakefield High School is the Arlington Public Schools (APS) neighborhood high school for much of South Arlington. It sits at 1325 S. Dinwiddie St. and serves grades 9 to 12. Its teams are the Warriors.

Who to call

• Main office: 703-228-6700 (fax 703-228-6760)
• Activities and athletics: Brian Parke, director of student activities, 703-228-6700
• 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 Peter Balas, according to the school’s website.

Enrollment and teachers

• APS count: 1,960 students on Sept. 30, 2026: 516 ninth graders, 506 in 10th grade, 425 in 11th and 513 in 12th, in APS’s official membership summary (PDF). The count leaves out 32 Wakefield-zone students who attend Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Fairfax County.
• State count: 2,537 students in fall 2025, down from 2,652 in 2024 and 2,722 in 2023, in the School Quality Profile. The state’s figure is higher than APS’s. APS lists H-B Woodlawn, Arlington Tech, Langston and other countywide programs separately, and Virginia publishes no separate profile for them.
• Federal count: 2,716 students in the 2023-24 school year, with 151 full-time-equivalent teachers, according to the NCES directory. That works out to about 18 students per teacher.

State report card

Virginia rates every school under its School Performance and Support Framework, which scores four things: 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. A school with a student group identified for federal support drops one category.

• 2026-27 framework score: 88.9, rated Approaching Expectations, in the division summary (PDF). Students with disabilities were identified for Targeted Support and Improvement.
• Accreditation: Fully Accredited
• On-time graduation: 92%. Of 655 students in the 2025-26 cohort, 603 graduated on time: 346 with an advanced studies diploma, 235 with a standard diploma and 22 with other diplomas. The completion rate was 93%, and 45 students (7%) dropped out.

Standards of Learning pass rates (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 high school boundary map (PDF).

On APS’s boundary maps, all of the Gunston Middle zone lies inside the Wakefield zone, along with parts of the Jefferson Middle and Kenmore Middle zones. At the elementary level, the Wakefield zone takes in all of the Abingdon, Dr. Charles R. Drew, Oakridge and Randolph zones, nearly all of Barcroft and parts of Alice West Fleet and Hoffman-Boston.

Wakefield is also the high school stop for the APS English-Spanish immersion program that runs through Claremont, Escuela Key and Gunston. Eighth graders who want to continue fill out an intent-to-return form in the spring, according to APS’s schools and programs page.

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
• March 22-26, 2027: spring break
• Thursday, June 17, 2027: last day of school, early release

The school day runs 8:20 a.m. to 3:10 p.m., with early release at 1 p.m., according to APS.

Sports and activities

Wakefield plays in Class 6, Region D, Liberty District, according to the VHSL alignment. The district’s other schools are George C. Marshall, Herndon, Langley, McLean, Washington-Liberty and Yorktown.

The school’s athletics page lists, for 2026-27: sideline and competition cheerleading, cross country, field hockey, football, golf and volleyball in the fall; basketball, gymnastics, indoor track, swimming, wrestling and air rifle in the winter; and baseball, lacrosse, soccer, softball, tennis, track and field and crew in the spring. Winter tryouts begin Nov. 10.

Programs APS and the school name include the Wakefield AP Network, which APS says offers 30 of the 38 Advanced Placement courses the College Board authorizes; the Spanish Immersion program; and the International Spanish Academy, listed on the school’s academics page.

Follow the Warriors on our Friday night football page and the high school scoreboard.

More on Arlington schools

• Wakefield High School’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 Wakefield High School serve?

Grades 9 through 12. APS counted 1,960 students there on Sept. 30, 2026.

How is Wakefield High School rated by the state?

It is fully accredited. In Virginia’s 2026-27 School Performance and Support Framework it scored 88.9 and is rated Approaching Expectations, a category lowered by one because students with disabilities were identified for targeted federal support.

What is Wakefield High School’s graduation rate?

92%. Of 655 students in the 2025-26 cohort, 603 graduated on time, according to the state’s School Quality Profile.

Which middle schools feed Wakefield High School?

All of the Gunston Middle zone and parts of the Jefferson and Kenmore middle zones lie in the Wakefield zone on APS’s boundary maps. Check an address in the APS boundary locator.

What time does Wakefield High School start?

8:20 a.m. to 3:10 p.m., with early release at 1 p.m., according to Arlington Public Schools.