Washington-Liberty High School, 1301 N. Stafford St.: grades 9-12, 2,554 students on Sept. 30, 2026, framework score 92.2. Office: 703-228-6200.

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

Washington-Liberty High School (W-L) is the Arlington Public Schools (APS) neighborhood high school for the Ballston, Clarendon and Courthouse corridor and much of central Arlington. It sits at 1301 N. Stafford St. and serves grades 9 to 12. The school opened in September 1924 and graduated its first class in 1925, according to its school profile. Its teams are the Generals.

Who to call

  • Main office: 703-228-6200 (fax 703-524-9814)
  • Activities office: 703-228-6207; Justin Bolfek is director of student activities
  • 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
Address 1301 N. Stafford St., Arlington, VA 22201
Grades 9 to 12
School day 8:20 a.m. to 3:10 p.m. (early release 1 p.m.)
Website wl.apsva.us
Division Arlington Public Schools

Principal

Principal Alexander Duncan III, according to the school’s website.

Enrollment and teachers

  • APS count: 2,554 students on Sept. 30, 2026: 659 ninth graders, 599 in 10th grade, 649 in 11th and 647 in 12th, in APS’s official membership summary (PDF). The count leaves out 36 W-L-zone students who attend Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Fairfax County.
  • State count: 3,051 students in fall 2025, up from 3,050 in 2024 and 2,904 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: 2,900 students in the 2023-24 school year, with 167 full-time-equivalent teachers, according to the NCES directory. That works out to about 17 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. A school with a student group identified for federal support drops one category.

  • 2026-27 framework score: 92.2, rated Meets Expectations, in the division summary (PDF). Students with disabilities were identified for Targeted Support and Improvement.
  • Accreditation: Fully Accredited
  • On-time graduation: 93%. Of 782 students in the 2025-26 cohort, 726 graduated on time: 509 with an advanced studies diploma, 201 with a standard diploma and 16 with other diplomas. The completion rate was 93%, and 53 students (7%) dropped out.

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

Subject 2023-24 2024-25 2025-26
English reading 88% 81% 83%
Math 88% 85% 83%
Science 73% 73% 80%

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, most of the Jefferson Middle and Kenmore Middle zones lie inside the W-L zone, along with parts of the Swanson Middle and Dorothy Hamm Middle zones. At the elementary level, the W-L zone takes in all of the Barrett and Carlin Springs zones, nearly all of Long Branch, most of Arlington Science Focus and Ashlawn, about half of Glebe and parts of Alice West Fleet, Hoffman-Boston, Cardinal, Innovation, Taylor and Barcroft.

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

W-L 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, Wakefield and Yorktown.

The school’s team sports page lists cheerleading, cross country, field hockey, football, golf and volleyball in the fall; basketball, gymnastics, indoor track, rifle, swim and dive and wrestling in the winter; and baseball, crew, lacrosse, soccer, softball, tennis and dance in the spring, plus intramural ultimate Frisbee. Football, field hockey, lacrosse and soccer play at War Memorial Stadium next to the school, and baseball and tennis at Quincy Park across Quincy Street, according to the athletics directions page.

W-L is home to APS’s International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme. Students outside the W-L zone can apply for a limited number of IB transfer slots, which APS sets each year from the previous year’s ninth-grade admissions and 12th-grade completions, according to the schools and programs page. The school profile also lists gifted services, independent study, special education and High Intensity Language Training.

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

More on Arlington schools

Frequently asked questions

What grades does Washington-Liberty High School serve?

Grades 9 through 12. APS counted 2,554 students there on Sept. 30, 2026, the most of any Arlington high school.

How is Washington-Liberty High School rated by the state?

It is fully accredited. In Virginia’s 2026-27 School Performance and Support Framework it scored 92.2 and is rated Meets Expectations, a category lowered by one because students with disabilities were identified for targeted federal support.

What is Washington-Liberty’s graduation rate?

93%. Of 782 students in the 2025-26 cohort, 726 graduated on time, according to the state’s School Quality Profile.

Which middle schools feed Washington-Liberty?

Most of the Jefferson and Kenmore middle zones and parts of the Swanson and Dorothy Hamm zones lie in the Washington-Liberty zone on APS’s boundary maps. Check an address in the APS boundary locator.

What time does Washington-Liberty start?

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