Westgate Elementary School

7500 Magarity Road

Falls Church, VA 22043

School District

Fairfax County Public Schools
Grade

PK, K-6
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:13
Type

public

School Map for Fairfax County Public Schools

GreatSchools Rating

The school rating calculation is based on four ratings: the Student Progress Rating or Academic Progress Rating, College Readiness Rating, Equity Rating, and Test Score Rating each designed to show different facets of school success. Learn more about GreatSchools Ratings

Reviews

Submitted by parent on September 14, 2024

Great school for Special Education kids. Teachers review IEP every year and follow it accordingly. Special Ed kids sit in least restrictive environment and get maximum support they need. 10/10 recommend this school.
Submitted by parent on October 16, 2023

My child has been attending Westgate since Kindergarten & is now an upper elementary student. He has been very happy at Westgate, has built a good social circle, likes his teachers & classes, & has had no complaints so far. We have had several opportunities to move him to other schools in the area that are supposedly "better", but we chose to keep him at Westgate because of the wonderful sense of community that we have experienced here. My only complaint is that the academic standards seem a bit lax in upper elementary (grades 4-6). Homework is inconsistent (some days they get some, other days they get nothing) & high-performing students don't seem to be challenged enough, even in the AAP program. We still prefer to keep our child in Westgate because he is happy & he is almost at the end of his elementary school journey, but my advice to Westgate would be to tighten its academic curriculum & becomes more serious about homework, assignments, etc. in the future, particularly for grades 4-6.
Submitted by parent on September 18, 2023

We moved here last year from Europe. Our children did not speak any English at the time. As a Scandinavian military family we are allowed to put our children in private school (paid by our employer), but as Scandinavian countries is all about good public schools we wanted to try that here as well. We wanted our children to feel like they belong in the neighborhood and have friends from class close to their house to play with in the afternoons and on the weekends (not a fan of driving 20-30 min to get to school). We were a little bit worried about the school having a average rating, and was considering other neighborhoods just a few minutes from here with higher rated schools, but when we saw our house, the neighborhood and went to visit the school we were sold. In the last year we have been so happy with the school, the progress our children have been making in school, the friends our children have made and the community feel of the school. Our children got accepted to language immersion at at neighboring school this year with much higher rating, but ultimately we decided to stay at Westgate, and we are happy with our decision. If you, as we were, are moving from somewhere else and considering Pimmit Hills zoned for Westgate I can only say good things about the school and the teachers my children have had. The school is very diverse, and feel that both our children and we as parents have learned so much about different cultures, countries, religions and a variety of educations, jobs and financial status in the last year, and that is something we really appreciate.
Submitted by parent on June 26, 2020

We have two students going here for the past three years and have been very happy with the school. Our kids like going there, have strong connections with the teachers and other students and have been learning quite quickly. Westgate is also starting to do part-time Advanced Academic Placement courses within the school (i.e., not sending the AAP kids to Lemon), which is nice for the students who want to stay at Westgate with their friends.
Submitted by parent on March 06, 2020

I can't wait to move this year and get my children in a better school!If I had a choice right now we would not use this government school. There is somevery good private schools in the area butwas not able to get a slot in them.
Submitted by parent on May 09, 2018

My son goes to this school . He improved and he loves this school.
Submitted by parent on May 03, 2018

Have thoroughly been pleased -- daughter has been here since kindergarten and will finish 6th grade this year.
Submitted by parent on November 15, 2017

Excellent school. The reason the rating is low is because is it based on only test scores and all the kids that get into the Advanced Academic programs leave in 3rd grade to go to the neighboring Lemon Rd school because it is an AAP center. So the Lemon Rd. rating is skewed high and the Westgate rating is skewed low.
Submitted by parent on November 13, 2017

The school is extremely good. I wonder why it got this low rating. My son is in AAP class, 4th grade, and the teacher and curriculum are great. Teachers are very respectful and welcoming.There are a few rowdy children, it speaks about the families that they are coming from. I agree that the teachers are doing their best but need support of families/stricter policies.
Submitted by parent on September 13, 2017

Excellent and dedicated teachers, Great environment for kids to grow and learn.
Submitted by parent on September 08, 2017

We have been at westgate for almost 4 years now and our second child just entered the school. We have been very happy with the academics and community at the school.
Submitted by parent on July 10, 2017

This school is great!! Rating went down only due to the county made lemon road gifted school. We and our kids love this school for it's leadership, administration and teachers!
Submitted by parent on December 15, 2015

My Kid growing happily and with good health at this school. Learning is fun for her at school!!!!
Submitted by parent on December 22, 2014

The principal is very caring and willing to work with you if you have kids who have minor special needs and are highly functioning. The teacher's we have had so far are extremely good but we were very active in discussing our child's specific needs ahead of time. Our children have definitely learned a great deal and continue to thrive.
Submitted by parent on December 19, 2014

The school is ok, but far below other schools in Fairfax County. There are a lot of children who misbehave in the school and little done about the issues. Choir is a whole hour of the teacher yelling at children who misbehave instead of actually learning how to sing. Some teachers are amazing and others really don't want to be there. Its the luck of the draw which one you get.
Submitted by parent on November 24, 2014

I find the curriculum less than challenging, at least for my early-grades girl. The teachers seem most focused on lining up kids and keeping them completely quiet rather than working to ensure they're performing as well as they can. The classroom atmosphere is rather joyless and strict. I would like to see more enthusiasm from teachers, more creativity in lesson planning, and less command-and-control. I know small children can be unruly, but that's developmentally normal. Disturbingly, I overhear (perhaps because I'm the parent of a girl and teachers think I won't mind the comments), a LOT of disparaging comments about boys and their behavior. Would be great to see less judgment of boys as "bad" and more investigation into how to positively integrate boys into a proactive classroom setting. Good things: The new addition should lessen crowding. The frequency of gym class, art, and music is very compelling.
Submitted by parent on November 23, 2014

Teachers care about students and their learning which is very important to me. Mostly students treat each other with respect but they need to be closely monitored
Submitted by parent on November 23, 2014

Principal of the school focus more on parking lines rather than quality of education. AP coordinator is a joke and all teachers expect parents to teach their kids instead of them, then why do we even send our kids to the school. Rating went down from 9 to 7 major reorganization is needed in this school.
Submitted by parent on January 29, 2014

Not so good. Before moving hear I heard this school is best. But personally I dont feel that way. Teachers and staff are not so co operative. I have moved three diff state my son was in middletown school earlier which was really good school. In compare to that this school is not so good. Also teaching was great in Middletown than this school. I may be just me because I have experience with Middletown school. But one thing I am sure it snot so good rating so as per my personal opinion its average school.
Submitted by parent on December 16, 2012

We have been very happy with Westgate. It has an active, engaged administration, diverse student body and fantastic teachers. The students really embody the community spirit. So many students place into AAP that there are tentative plans to make Westgate an AAP center. The 2013 renovation is an added bonus. If you want your child to be involved in an enriched curriculum and be part of a culturally and socioeconomically diverse student body, then this school is a nice fit.