The Purple Star designation is awarded to military-friendly schools that have demonstrated their commitment to meeting the needs of military-connected students and their families.
The Virginia Department of Education and the Virginia Council on the Interstate Compact on the Educational Opportunity for Military Children are recognizing 110 public and private schools as “Purple Star” schools. Twenty-nine of the schools are second time recipients of the distinction. This is the sixth year the VDOE and The Council have designated Purple Star schools.
Fredericksburg City Public Schools and Stafford County Public Schools achieved Purple Star division status for the first time in 2023. To reach and maintain Purple Star division status all schools in the school division must have an active Purple Star School designation. Chesapeake Public Schools, York County Public Schools and Poquoson City Public Schools are maintaining their Purple Star division statuses this year with the awarding of schools in their divisions.
Since 2018, VDOE and The Council have provided 569 awards to deserving schools in the Commonwealth, and 360 of the schools have maintained an active designation and 148 have received the designation twice. Purple Star schools retain the designation for three years before being required to reapply.
Several of the largest and most important military installations in the United States are in Virginia. More than 78,000 school-age military connected students attend public schools in the Commonwealth. Their parents serve on active duty, in the Reserves or in the Virginia National Guard.
The Virginia Council on the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children was created in 2009 to ensure that all matters related to the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children were managed with fidelity. The compact expresses the commitment of participating states to remove barriers to academic success for children of military families. Virginia was the second state after Ohio to establish Purple Star School recognition. Now, more than 43 states have adopted the Purple Star School designation program.
Schools that earn the award receive a certificate of recognition from the Virginia Council, a Virginia Purple Star commemorative coin to display and are listed as a Purple Star school on the VDOE Military Families webpage.
The 2023-2024 Virginia public and private schools that have earned a Purple Star award are as follows, by division. Those with an asterisk * are receiving their second Purple Star award.:
Albemarle County Public Schools
- Meriwether Lewis (Ivy) Elementary School
Alexandria City Public Schools
- Lyles-Crouch Traditional Academy
Arlington Public Schools
- Innovation Elementary School
- Washington-Liberty High School
- Alice West Fleet Elementary School
Chesapeake Public Schools – Maintaining Purple Star Division
- Butts Road Elementary School
- G.W. Carver Intermediate School *
- Portlock Primary School *
Fairfax County Public Schools
- Belle View Elementary School
- Bonnie Brae Elementary
- Canterbury Woods Elementary School
- Centreville Elementary School
- Chesterbrook Elementary School
- Herndon Elementary School
- Katherine Johnson Middle School
- Kings Park Elementary School
- Lake Braddock Secondary School
- Lemon Road Elementary School
- Lynbrook Elementary School
- Rolling Valley Elementary School
- Rose Hill Elementary School
- South County High School
- South County Middle School
- Wakefield Forest Elementary School
- West Springfield Elementary School *
- Westfield High School
Fredericksburg City Public Schools – Achievement of Purple Star Division Status
- James Monroe High School
Gloucester County Public Schools
- Abingdon Elementary School
- Achilles Elementary School *
Hampton City Public Schools
- Benjamin Syms Middle School
- Captain John Smith Elementary
- Cooper Elementary School
- George P. Phenix PK-8 School
- Langley Elementary School
- Luther W. Machen Elementary School
Loudoun County Public Schools
- Cardinal Ridge Elementary School
- J. Michael Lunsford Middle School
- Legacy Elementary School
- Riverside High School
- Rock Ridge High School
Poquoson City Public Schools – Maintaining Purple Star Division
- Poquoson Elementary School
- Poquoson High School *
- Poquoson Middle School
- Poquoson Primary School
Portsmouth Public Schools
- Churchland Academy Elementary
- Churchland Primary and Intermediate
- Cradock Middle School
- I.C. Norcom High School
- Manor High School
Prince George County Public Schools
- David A. Harrison Elementary *
- JEJ Moore Middle School
- Middle Road Elementary (Previously William A. Walton Elementary) *
Prince William County Public Schools
- Antietam Elementary School
- Bristow Run Elementary School *
- C. D. Hylton High School *
- Covington-Harper Elementary School
- Gainesville Middle School *
- Haymarket Elementary School
- Kyle R. Wilson Elementary School *
- Lake Ridge Elementary School
- Mary Williams Elementary School *
- Minnieville Elementary School *
- Mountain View Elementary School
- Old Bridge Elementary School *
- Patriot High School
- Penn Elementary School *
- Pennington Traditional School
- Potomac High School
- Potomac View Elementary School
- Rockledge Elementary School
- Samuel L. Gravely Elementary School *
Stafford County Public Schools – Achievement of Purple Star Division Status
- A.G. Wright Middle School
- Anne E. Moncure Elementary School
- Anthony Burns Elementary School *
- Brooke Point High School
- Colonial Forge High School *
- Dixon-Smith Middle School
- Edward E. Drew, Jr Middle School
- Ferry Farm Elementary School
- Garrisonville Elementary School
- Grafton Village Elementary
- Hampton Oaks Elementary *
- Hartwood Elementary School
- H.H. Poole Middle School
- Kate Waller Barrett Elementary School *
- Mountain View High School
- Park Ridge Elementary School *
- Rodney Thompson Middle School
- Shirley C. Heim Middle School
- Stafford Elementary
- Stafford High School
- Stafford Middle School
- T. Benton Gayle Middle School
Suffolk County Public Schools
- Col. Fred Cherry Middle School
- John Yeates Middle School *
- Florence Bowser Elementary School
Virginia Beach City Public Schools
- Birdneck Elementary School *
- Frank W. Cox High School
- Indian Lakes Elementary School
- John B. Dey Elementary
Virginia Private Schools
- Catholic High School
- Five Star Kids PreK at the Armed Services YMCA of Hampton Roads
- Lynnhaven School, Inc.
- Saint John Paul the Great Catholic High School
- Saint Matthew’s Catholic School *
- Saint Patrick Catholic School
- The Williams School
York County Public Schools – Maintaining Purple Star Division
- Dare Elementary School *
- Grafton High School
- Tabb High School
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Rebecca Barnabi
