Middle School

Applying to Option Schools / Programs: Interested families must complete an online application and submit all required documents by Friday, Jan. 13, 2023, at 4 p.m.  

For questions or assistance, call 703-228-8000 (option 3), email schooloptions@apsva.us or visit the APS Welcome Center at 2110 Washington Blvd for in-person support.

Option Schools/Programs – Application Timeline for School Year 2023-24
Application window: OPEN Nov. 7, 2022 – Jan. 13, 2023 at 4 p.m.
Lottery* (online) Jan. 23, 2023, 1 p.m.
Families receive lottery results Jan. 30, 2023 after 4 p.m.
Deadline to accept/decline Feb. 13, 2023 by 11:59 p.m.
Neighborhood Transfers – Application Timeline for School Year 2023-24
Application window: Feb. 20 – March 3, 2023 at 4 p.m.
Lottery* (online) March 17, 2023, 1 p.m.
Families receive lottery results March 24, 2023 after 4 p.m.
Deadline to accept/decline March 31, 2023 by 11:59 p.m.

*Families do NOT receive lottery results on the day of the automated lottery. Families are notified of their acceptance or placement on the waitlist by email and/or text by 4 p.m. on the date in the application timeline.

Option Schools/Programs:

Learn more about each school/program.

Attend an Information Session:  Each middle school will offer an in-person and/or virtual information session for families. See the schedule.

Watch Virtual Middle School Information Night!

  • Families of students entering middle school in the fall of 2023 will learn about the transition to middle school, core classes, electives, and extracurriculars.
  • Families interested in option schools/programs or neighborhood transfers will learn about the application and lottery process.

Lottery: If more applications are received than there are seats available, APS will conduct a random, double-blind lottery to determine admission.

  • The 2023-24 school-year lotteries for middle and high school option schools will be held on Monday, Jan. 23, 2023, at 1 p.m. View a recording of last year’s automated lottery process.
    • Families DO NOT receive lottery results on the day of the automated lottery.
  • Families will be notified of their acceptance or placement on the waitlist by email and/or text on Jan 30, 2023, after 4 p.m.
  • Families must confirm or decline attendance to the school or program by February 13, 2023 at 11:59 p.m. 
  • If families do not accept or decline their seat by the deadline, their seat will be given to the next student on the waitlist.
  • If families apply to more than one school/program, their application will go into all lotteries simultaneously. 

Waitlists: Students who applied, but were not selected through the lottery process, will be placed in numerical order on a waitlist.

  • Applications received after the deadline are placed at the bottom of the existing waitlist for the upcoming school year.
  • When students on the waitlist are offered a seat, they have a one-week window to accept the slot. If the slot is not accepted within the one-week window, the offer will be rescinded and offered to the next student on the waitlist.
  • Waitlists for neighborhood transfers will be maintained by the APS Welcome Center until May 1.
  • Option seats are continuously filled throughout the school year as seats become available.

Sibling Preference: Sibling preference is not currently offered at the middle school level.

Transportation: Transportation is available for students attending option schools/programs who live outside their school’s walk zone (View school bus eligibility maps).

  • All transportation for option school and programs is provided via hub stops. Hub stops are central locations—such as a community center or school—where students from several neighborhoods meet to catch the bus to their school and may be a longer distance from a student’s residence. Learn more.
  • Transportation is not provided for neighborhood transfers or administrative placements.

Neighborhood Transfers: A decision regarding transfers for the 2023-24, if any, school year will be announced in February 2023 after the January enrollment update to the Superintendent and the School Board. Learn more.