Middle School Information

5th grade Families,

I have received a couple questions regarding Middle School. I will provide the information I know, but please always reach out if you have any questions (cindy.skinner@apsva.us) .

First things first!  Please check that ParentVue has your correct address. Your home Middle School is assigned by your address.  If it is not correct, please reach out to our registrar, Helene Stainback Helene.stainback@apsva.us .  She can guide you through what needs to happen to get it corrected.

Secondly, if your address is correct, and you are planning to attend your neighborhood/home Middle School, you don’t need to do anything.  Your child IS registered.  All you need to do is watch for course registration (I’ll be sharing that in early 2024).

IF you want to apply to an Option Middle School… Option Schools and Programs – Arlington Public Schools (apsva.us) this has all your information.  For Ashlawn students this would be HB Woodlawn.  HB allots each elementary school a certain number of spots based on enrollment.  Ashlawn had 3 slots last year.  If you are interested in reading more about HB, or applying to be entered into the HB lottery, please click on the link above.

IF you want to apply to transfer to a different Neighborhood Middle School (i.e. Kenmore is your neighborhood school, but you want your child to go to Swanson)… Transferring to Another School – Arlington Public Schools (apsva.us) this has your information.  In January/February, the county looks at the enrollment numbers at each secondary school.  They decide how many, if any, additional spots they can make available.  Assuming there are open spots, they open the transfer application process, and then will have a lottery to fill those spots.  This number varies year to year.  Some years I’ve seen no openings, some years many.  There is no way to anticipate this.

I found this (if it was shared, I missed it!).  Here is a link to a video version of Middle School Information Night.  Middle School Options and Transfers Information for School Year 2024-25 – Arlington Public Schools (apsva.us)

Registering your child for classes… in late January/early February, the Middle School counselors come to Ashlawn and talk with our students.  They introduce them to the middle school day and talk about courses and electives.  The students will be enrolled in a Canvas class and WITH an adult from home, complete their Course Request Form (CRF).  More on that in 2024!

In late spring, our students visit their Middle Schools for a morning.  It includes a quick tour of the school, some question/answers, and music presentations.

Lastly, I will be updating the Ashlawn/School Counselor/Middle School page on our school website (soon!).  https://ashlawn.apsva.us/counseling/

Please, feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions!  If I don’t know the answers, I know who to ask! 😊

Thank you,

Cindy Skinner, Ashlawn School Counselor