6621 Wakefield Dr #401
Alexandria, VA 22307

I will never undestand why this school continues to get such low scores, as they do not reflect what a good, sweet elementary school this is. My son is in 1st grade and runs to the bus top every day, happy and excited to go to school. His teachers have been kind, patient, very respectful to their students, and willing to communicate with us any time. Principal Kuntz is kind and makes it a point to learn every student's name and greet them with a friendly smile every morning. We appreciate the economic, neurodevelopmental and ethnic diversity at Belle View Elementary and see it was a real benefit to our son's emotional growth and larger life perspective. We're also happy that they Advanced Academic Program is now part of Belle View's offerings instead of kids having to move to another school to partcipate. The actual school building, classrooms and outside play areas are also very nice. I would strongly recommend all neighboring families to tour the school and talk to other parents rather than basing their choice on these scores alone. They do not paint an accurate or full picture.

I go to this school and it's a terrible place, all of the bathrooms are closed most of the time, it's dirty and we never go outside. The staff don't do anything to prevent fights and people, including me have been jumped. I would not recommend this place to anybody.

West Potomac is really three unofficial/informal schools wrapped into one. SOME kids can move between the schools, but most kids stay where they are. In the "bottom school" the kids don't care and the parents don't care. Unfortunately this cohort lowers the overall school scores and dissuades many people from sending their kids here. This is the smallest part of the school (these three "informal schools" are NOT 1/3 each). In the "average (or middle) school" many kids care and want to learn, but something (ES/MS experience, ESL, home environment, disengaged or overly-busy parents, economic challenges, etc.) holds them back. Sometimes teachers, administrators, sports, and extracurriculars help kids "move up" and out of this school. In the "top school" most of the kids are going to go to college and many/most take AP courses. Parents are engaged. These three "schools" are NOT solely socio-economic, but there are some linkages. Sadly, many kids in the "top school" never even interact with the kids in the "bottom school". There IS luckily a lot of overlap between the average and top schools...overall West Potomac is a very solid school that prepared all three of our children to attend fairly elite, private, liberal arts colleges. If you want your kids to be coddled, send them elsewhere. If you want them to sort of deal with the real world, West Potomac is a good place to start...