Charles Barrett Elementary School, 1115 Martha Custis Drive: pre-K to grade 5, 496 students in fall 2025, rated Approaching Expectations.

Last checked Oct. 19, 2026. Sources: Charles Barrett Elementary School, Alexandria City Public Schools, the Virginia Department of Education’s School Quality Profile and the federal NCES school directory.

Charles Barrett Elementary School is a public elementary school run by Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS). It serves pre-K through fifth grade on Martha Custis Drive, near the city’s northern line with Arlington.

Who to call

  • Front office: 703-824-6960
  • Registrar (new students): Kellye Thompson, per the registrars list
  • ACPS central office: 703-619-8000, 1340 Braddock Place; questions to ask@acps.k12.va.us
  • Buses: ACPS Office of Pupil Transportation, 703-461-4169
Address 1115 Martha Custis Drive, Alexandria, VA 22302
Phone 703-824-6960
Grades Pre-K to 5
Website cb.acps.k12.va.us
Division Alexandria City Public Schools

Principal

Principal Loren Brody, according to the school’s website, which says he joined ACPS from the Takoma Education Campus. Marcella H. Ahern is the assistant principal.

Enrollment and teachers

  • State count: 496 students in fall 2025, compared with 550 in 2024 and 586 in 2023, in the School Quality Profile. Fall 2025 included 56 pre-K students.
  • Federal count: 584 students in the 2023-24 school year, with 36 full-time-equivalent teachers, according to the NCES directory. That works out to about 16 students per teacher.

State report card

Virginia rates each school two ways on its School Quality Profile. Accreditation shows whether the school has submitted, and the state has approved, the evidence the Standards of Accreditation require. The School Performance and Support Framework gives each school a score and one of four performance levels: Distinguished, Meets Expectations, Approaching Expectations or Needs Intensive Support.

  • Accreditation, 2025-26: Fully Accredited
  • Framework score: 84.37, rated Approaching Expectations, in the division summary

Standards of Learning pass rates (share of tested students who passed, grades 3 to 5):

Subject 2023-24 2024-25 2025-26
English reading 63% 61% 61%
Math 62% 69% 64%
Science 64% 69% 71%

Science pass rates have risen each of the last two years. The full profile also reports attendance, spending and teacher data.

Attendance zone and feeder schools

Look up an address in the ACPS Attendance Zone Locator, which shows its elementary, middle and high school for 2026-27 and whether a student qualifies for a bus. ACPS publishes its elementary-to-middle feeder patterns as maps on the redistricting page instead of as a list, so the locator is the reliable check for a single address. Every ACPS student goes on to Alexandria City High School.

Rezoning: under the boundaries the School Board approved June 12, 2025, some Charles Barrett neighborhoods were moved to George Mason Elementary. Because George Mason’s temporary building has limited room, Charles Barrett students from those areas are scheduled to move in the 2027-28 school year, according to the boundaries page.

Elementary students who live within one mile of school are expected to walk; see the Charles Barrett walk zone map. In kindergarten, a school that is over its class-size limit holds a lottery among registered students and places some at another ACPS school. Our Alexandria schools guide covers the rezoning.

Programs

Kindergartners at Charles Barrett may apply to join the Spanish-English two-way dual language program at Mount Vernon Community School, if there is room, under the ACPS program transfer rules.

Calendar and bell times

From the ACPS 2026-27 traditional calendar:

  • Friday, Oct. 30: end of first quarter
  • Monday, Nov. 2, and Tuesday, Nov. 3: no school (teacher work day, then Election Day)
  • Wednesday, Nov. 11: Veterans Day, no school
  • Nov. 25-27: Thanksgiving break
  • Dec. 21 to Jan. 1: winter break
  • Thursday, June 17, 2027: last day of school

Charles Barrett does not post a bell schedule on its website; call the front office for start and dismissal times.

More on Alexandria schools

Frequently asked questions

What grades does Charles Barrett serve?

Pre-K through fifth grade, according to Alexandria City Public Schools.

How is Charles Barrett rated by the state?

It is fully accredited for 2025-26. In Virginia’s School Performance and Support Framework it scored 84.37 and is rated Approaching Expectations.

Which high school does Charles Barrett feed into?

Alexandria City High School, the city’s only public high school. The middle school depends on the address; check the ACPS Attendance Zone Locator.