It's a Great Day to be a Student at Forest Edge!

10 Reasons Forest Edge Elementary Stands Out

Student Programs

Our student ambassadors, led by Sarah Zamfir (Counselor), have been hard at work planning school wide morning meetings to bring joy and belonging to all our students! Mrs.Zamfir has partnered with Meghan Hanson (Advanced Academics Resource Teacher) and Lee Strauss (Librarian) to include Portrait of a Graduate and Literacy throughout our School Wide Morning Meetings. We enjoy these fun and purposeful meetings as a community. Additionally, our students participate in our Get2Green Club where they support the recycling and conservation efforts of our building and are participants in Math and Science Olympiad.

Community Partnerships

Forest Edge partners with OurKidsRead, a non-profit organization that encourages students to have access to diverse books. Our students engaged in two story-telling events and received over 1,000 books to take home and read with their families! We are also proud partners with Trinity Church in Reston. Trinity has supported our Back to School Events by donating over 200 backpacks! Additionally, we partner with the Reston Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. to bring mentoring to our students. 

Staff Recognition

Forest Edge opened in 1971, that year there were several amazing songs on the Billboard Top 100 List. The administrative team chose four songs from that list to celebrate the amazing work our staff is doing! Each month the staff pass the record to a new staff member who embodies the message of that song. The songs selected were:

• Joy to the World by Three Dog Night
• I Just Want to Celebrate by Rare Earth
• You’ve Got a Friend by James Taylor
• It Don’t Come Easy by Ringo Starr

Additionally, each week staff members have an opportunity to share how we "SOAR Together" through KUDOS in the staff newsletter.

Academic Goals

Academic excellence is at the forefront of our work. Fall screenings in reading and math indicate that 72% and 73% (respectively) of our students were within appropriate grade level benchmarks. We look forward to increasing these numbers throughout the year!

Welcome Walks

Every year in late summer, Forest Edge teachers and staff conduct Welcome Walks to each student’s home to build excitement for the school year! Welcome walks are also a great opportunity for teachers to better understand the unique needs, strengths, and cultural backgrounds of their students.During these walks, we give each student some back to school goodies!

Community Events

Throughout the year we come together as a community to participate in various events. This year we had over 100 students, family members, and staff members walk with Forest Edge during the South Lakes High School Homecoming Parade. We are proud representatives of the South Lakes Pyramid!

Teacher Collaboration and Professional Learning

The teachers at Forest Edge are committed to giving all students the best education possible. To do this, we spend time improving our teaching skills. We often meet to look at student data, observe each other's classes, and get coaching. Recently, we worked with the team from ST Math, where teachers got to watch a Puzzle Talk lesson and see how it helped our students learn.

Parent Coffees

Forest Edge hosts monthly Parent Coffees to engage parents in their student’s learning. Topics may include how to support your students’ learning at home, social-emotional learning conversations, and how to interpret test scores. 

Outdoor Classroom

Forest Edge students love learning in our Outdoor Classroom! This project was initially spearheaded by our PTA. The outdoor classroom is used by teachers and students as a unique learning environment where nature and academics collide. Located around our outdoor classroom are a variety of plants and vegetables. If you’re learning in our Outdoor Classroom, you might also get a glimpse of our pumpkin patch and our neighborhood groundhog.

AVID at Forest Edge

Forest Edge is an Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) school which promotes college and career readiness. Our students in grades 4-6 are learning organization skills by utilizing binders and calendars to organize their work and important dates. Throughout our building we display a variety of college flags to remind our students of all of their options beyond high school.