These Are The Best School Districts In VA, New Ranking Says

Parents choosing where to live in Virginia often look first at the quality of the local school district.

The best school district in Virginia is Falls Church City Public Schools, according to the 2027 Best School Districts in America list recently released by the education ranking service Niche.

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The district gets an A+ rating overall from Niche, with A+ grades in the categories of academics and college preparation; A grades for teachers, clubs and activities, and resources and facilities; an A- for sports; a B+ for administration; and Bs for diversity and food.

Niche also ranked Falls Church City Public Schools the third-best district to teach in Virginia and ranked its teachers fourth in the state. The district was ranked 196th in the nation.

Other school districts in the Northern Virginia area that got an "A-" or better grade are:

• Arlington Public Schools, rated A, ranked third in the state.
• Loudoun County Public Schools, rated A, ranked fourth in the state.
• Fairfax County Public Schools, rated A, ranked sixth in the state.

Niche also released its best public schools and best private schools rankings.

• Alexandria's Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, a magnet school, was ranked best public high school in the state and 23rd best in the country.

• Reston's Ideaventions Academy for Math and Science was ranked the best private high school in Virginia and 29th best in the country.

• Arlington's Veritas Collegiate Academy was ranked second-best private high school in the state, best private K-12 school in Virginia, and 12th best private K-12 school in the country.
• The Arlington Traditional Elementary School was ranked the best public elementary school in the state.
• Falls Church's Mary Ellen Henderson Middle School was ranked the best public middle school in the state.

Niche's rankings combine federal and state data, school statistics, and over 3 million reviews from students, parents, and teachers to evaluate schools beyond test scores.

This year, Niche updated its methodology and created separate public and private rankings for categories including arts, diversity, college prep and teachers. It also introduced school-type-specific methodologies for boarding schools and private online high schools.

"Families deserve a complete view of their options, whether they're evaluating schools in their area or exploring what's available elsewhere," Niche founder and CEO Luke Skurman said in a news release.

See more: Virginia's 25 Best Public, Private High Schools: Niche 2027 Rankings.

See more: Alexandria Teacher Selected For National STEM Advocates Program, Hopes To Spark Math Ambitions.