If you opt-in to the housing referral program, your lodging will be in Arlington County, Virginia. In the U.S., public schools are run by the county that you live in, so your child will attend Arlington County Public Schools.
Students must be of age to attend school.
Kindergarten
Students will receive grade placement recommendations based on:
Student’s best interest
Final recommendation for grade placement is made at the school by the principal or principal designee.
In Virginia, public school is not available until the age of 5 if the student’s birthday is on or by September 30th of the year they are enrolling. Children younger than 5 who do not meet the September 30th cut-off date will have to enroll in a private pre-school program. The following link offers information on finding a licensed childcare provider: https://family.arlingtonva.us/child-care/parent-and-family-resources/
Please note that although Arlington Public Schools do offer some preschool options such as Montessori and the Community Peer Program, seats are limited, and parents MUST pay tuition. For Montessori information visit: https://www.apsva.us/early-childhood-prek/programs-and-services/montessori-program/
For Community Peer Program (CPP) information visit: https://www.apsva.us/early-childhood-prek/community-peer-pre-k-cpp-program/
K-12 schooling covers all grades from kindergarten to 12th grade. Families will register at the Language Services Registration Center (LSRC). Registration can be done in person (call 703-228-7663 to schedule an appointment) or online by visiting: https://www.apsva.us/registering-your-child/online-registration/
During the in-person Registration Appointment:
Online registration:
The list of required registration documents can be found here.
Please find all requirements and forms here: https://www.apsva.us/registering-your-child/
Student Registration Form: https://www.apsva.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Student-Registration-Form-Revised-3.9.2023-Fillable.pdf
STUDENTS WHO HAVE ALREADY GRADUATED in another country CANNOT enroll in Public School in Virginia.
DO NOT plan on your high school student being eligible to graduate from High School in Virginia. Please note that it is extremely rare for a student transferring from overseas or from another State in the U.S. to be placed in the 12th grade. Students entering grade 12 must be able to graduate by the end of the year; therefore, they must meet all the graduation requirements for the State of Virginia; which is almost impossible if the student has not been attending a Virginia school or if he/she is not academically proficient in English. If students attending school as seniors (12th graders) and do not graduate, they become a “drop-out” student. Being a drop-out does not benefit the student and the school system does not want to have drop-out students.
Language Services Registration Center (LSRC) staff needs to evaluate the student's foreign transcripts before any final grade placement decision is made. Please understand that every course on a report card from another school system does NOT equate to a high school course in the state of Virginia.
Please see here for the High School program of studies, graduation requirements for the State of Virginia (pgs. 5-14).
Bring all records of Advanced Placement exams or IB program certificates.
To have foreign transcripts evaluated for 9th-11th grade students:
A Schedule of Seat Hours for Foreign Transcript Evaluation form must be completed for each grade level.
Students must meet Virginia Health requirements for school admission.
Please note that Arlington Public Schools ends about a week later than NDU. Last day of school:
In order to take your child(ren) out of school early, please:
Dependent children aged 21 to 23 must be enrolled full time in an institute of higher learning to be listed as authorized dependents on your ITO. Your dependent does not have to attend a US institution (can attend any college virtually), but proof of enrollment must be provided for the current academic year.
Families of dependents 21 or older are recommended to look into attending community college during their time in the United States. Community college in the United States is a postsecondary educational institution. You will be living in Arlington, VA during your year here. Many of our officers have their college-aged children attend Northern Virginia Community College (NVCC), which would be metro accessible from your apartment and a much more affordable option than universities in the area, such as George Mason University, George Washington University, Georgetown, or American University. You can go to this website for more information about NVCC: https://www.nvcc.edu/
High school sports start in early August.
As always, do not hesitate to contact ISMO if you have any questions regarding the above information. If your housing is outside Arlington, we can help you find schooling information pertaining to your county.