Terraset Elementary, 11411 Ridge Heights Road, Reston: preschool and K-6, 578 students in September 2026, rated Distinguished. Office: 703-390-5600.

Last checked Oct. 20, 2026. Sources: Terraset Elementary School, the FCPS school profile, the Virginia Department of Education’s School Quality Profile and the federal NCES school directory.

Terraset Elementary School, on Ridge Heights Road next to Langston Hughes Middle and South Lakes High, is built into a hill and covered with earth. Of the roughly 24,200 addresses inside Reston’s Census boundary in Fairfax County’s address file, about 16% fall in its zone on the county’s 2026-27 attendance maps. Terraset, meaning “set in the Earth,” opened Feb. 22, 1977, as an energy-saving design during the oil crisis. Saudi Arabia’s then crown prince, Fahd, paid for its solar panel network, which was later removed after the panels cracked and leaked, according to the school’s history page. The FCPS profile says a full renovation was completed in fall 2016.

Who to call

  • Main office: 703-390-5600, open 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
  • Attendance: 703-390-5656
  • Registering a new student: FCPS Student Registration, 703-204-6740
  • Buses: FCPS Transportation Services, 703-446-2000
Address 11411 Ridge Heights Road, Reston, VA 20191
Grades Preschool, kindergarten to 6
School day 9:20 a.m. to 4:05 p.m.
Website terrasetes.fcps.edu
Division Fairfax County Public Schools, Region 1, South Lakes High pyramid

Principal

Principal Elizabeth Baxter, according to the school’s website, which welcomed her as the new principal on Aug. 24, 2026.

Enrollment and teachers

  • FCPS count: 578 students in September of the 2026-27 school year, on the division’s school profile.
  • State count: 601 students in fall 2025, against 603 in 2024 and 611 in 2023, in the School Quality Profile.
  • Federal count: 611 students in the 2023-24 school year, with 45 full-time-equivalent teachers, according to the NCES directory. That works out to about 14 students per teacher.

State report card

Virginia rates each school two ways on its School Quality Profile. Accreditation shows whether the school meets the state’s Standards of Accreditation. 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: 91.57, rated Distinguished, in the FCPS division summary

Standards of Learning pass rates (share of tested students who passed):

Subject 2023-24 2024-25 2025-26
English reading 74% 77% 77%
Math 70% 76% 77%
Science 74% 73% 74%

The full profile breaks the results down by student group and grade and also reports attendance, spending and teacher data.

Attendance zone

Enter an address in the FCPS boundary locator to see its assigned schools. On the county’s 2026-27 attendance area maps, the whole Terraset zone goes to Langston Hughes Middle and then South Lakes High. Hughes’ other feeder schools are Sunrise Valley, Lake Anne, Dogwood, Hunters Woods and Forest Edge elementary schools and part of Crossfield Elementary.

FCPS’s comprehensive boundary review, approved by the School Board in January 2026, set the zones that took effect this 2026-27 school year, according to the FCPS boundary review page. The locator shows each address’s current assignment.

Calendar and school hours

From the FCPS 2026-27 school year calendar:

  • Friday, Oct. 30: end of the first quarter, two-hour early release
  • Monday, Nov. 2, and Tuesday, Nov. 3: student holidays (Nov. 3 is Election Day)
  • Nov. 25-27: Thanksgiving break
  • Dec. 21 to Jan. 3: winter break
  • March 22-26: spring break
  • Wednesday, June 16, 2027: last day of school, a two-hour early release for elementary students

Kindergarten through sixth grade runs 9:20 a.m. to 4:05 p.m., with doors opening at 9:05 a.m., according to the school’s bell schedule page. Morning preschool runs 9:20 a.m. to 12:40 p.m. and afternoon preschool 12:45 to 4:05 p.m. On a two-hour early dismissal, school ends at 2:05 p.m.

Programs

Programs the FCPS school profile lists include local Level IV advanced academic programs, Foreign Language in the Elementary Schools, early childhood special education, Young Scholars, multilingual learner and special education services and School-Age Child Care (SACC). Special features it names include an outdoor learning program on the green roof and campus, compacted math, band, chorus and orchestra, Odyssey of the Mind and a Lego club.

More on Reston schools

Frequently asked questions

What grades does Terraset Elementary School serve?

Preschool and kindergarten through sixth grade. FCPS counted 578 students at the school in September 2026.

How is Terraset Elementary rated by the state?

It is Fully Accredited for 2025-26. In Virginia’s School Performance and Support Framework it scored 91.57 and is rated Distinguished.

Which middle and high school does Terraset Elementary feed into?

Langston Hughes Middle and South Lakes High. The whole Terraset zone goes to both on Fairfax County’s 2026-27 attendance maps.

What time does Terraset Elementary start?

School runs 9:20 a.m. to 4:05 p.m., with doors opening at 9:05 a.m., according to the school’s bell schedule.