2026-27 PORTER APPLICATION
The 2026-27 application has ended (February 1, 2026).
Applicants will receive an email regarding results of the lottery by the first week of March.
PORTER APPLICATION PROCESS
The yearly APPLICATION PERIOD is November 1 - February 1.
The APPLICATION LINK will be posted each year on November 1st and will be inactivated on February 1st.
REQUIREMENTS TO SUBMIT AN APPLICATION
Student RESIDES IN THE DESIGNATED ATTENDANCE AREA of Prince William County (see Base School list below)
Student is a CURRENT RESIDENT of Prince William County.
A CURRENT REPORT CARD is REQUIRED if your student currently attends a private school or a school outside of Prince William County.
Enrollment at Porter Traditional School is limited; if the number of applications received exceeds enrollment capacity, a lottery is used to select students for current openings. The lottery is conducted in February.
Parents are notified of results via their email, usually around the first week of March.
Any student not pulled in the lottery is placed on the waiting list (by grade)
We continue to pull from the waiting list until September 30. The waiting list becomes void after September 30. If a student is not pulled from the waiting list, then he/she will have to reapply the following year.
NOTE FOR STUDENTS APPLYING FOR 1st GRADE
If a student does not meet the PWCS Age of Entrance for Kindergarten: age 5 by September 30 of that school year, and he/she is attending a private school for Kindergarten, in order to advance to 1st grade at a PWCS school, the private school MUST BE ACCREDITED by the Virginia Council for Private Education (VCPE) and/or the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). You may go to VCPE.ORG and/or NAEYC.org to check if a private school is accredited.
**per REGULATION 723-1: "For children who did not meet the kindergarten age requirement of five years of age by September 30, and whose parent/guardian is attempting to enroll the child in first grade, the following criteria must be met:
- The student must have attended and successfully completed the kindergarten program of a school accredited by the Virginia Council of Private Education (VCPE), National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), or the equivalent. Instruction in the home of a child or children by the parent/guardian or other person having control or charge of the child or children shall not be classified as an accredited kindergarten program. The parent/guardian must provide evidence (report card or transcript) of successful kindergarten program completion.
- The parent/guardian must make the request to the principal during the designated kindergarten registration dates. The principal makes the final decision regarding grade placement; and
- The parent/guardian must complete the Enrollment Agreement form (attachment) at the time of registration. This form officially informs the parent/guardian that enrollment in first grade is on a conditional basis. As indicated in the Enrollment Agreement, unsatisfactory progress in first grade may result in kindergarten placement. Changes in kindergarten grade placement, if warranted, will be made in the student’s first month of school.
Students residing in the eastern part of Prince William County are eligible to apply to Porter Traditional School. If your child's elementary zoned (neighborhood) school is listed below, you may apply:
- Antietam
- Ashland
- Bel Air
- Belmont
- Covington-Harper
- Dale City
- Dumfries
- Enterprise
- Featherstone
- Fitzgerald
- Henderson
- Jenkins
- Kerrydale
- Kilby
- King
- Lake Ridge
- Leesylvania
- Marumsco Hills
- McAuliffe
- Minnieville
- Montclair
- Neabsco
- Occoquan
- Old Bridge
- Pattie
- Potomac View
- River Oaks
- Rockledge
- Rose Parks
- Springwoods
- Swans Creek
- Triangle
- Vaughn
- Westridge
- Williams
- Wilson