Watson Mountain Middle School, Leesburg: zone and report card

Last checked Oct. 23, 2026. Sources: Watson Mountain Middle School, Loudoun County Public Schools, the Virginia Department of Education’s School Quality Profile and LCPS’s 2026-27 elementary, middle and high school zone layers.

Watson Mountain Middle School, at 41480 Steeplechase Loop Drive, opened in August 2024 and teaches grades 6 and 7 for the Brambleton Middle and Independence High zone, which reaches into the southern end of Leesburg ZIP code 20175. It is run by Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS), the county-wide school division.

Watson Mountain has a Leesburg mailing address but sits well outside the town limits, southwest of the Evergreen Mills Road, Ryan Road and Red Hill Road intersection, according to LCPS.

Who to call

• Front office: 571-367-4250, 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
• Enrolling a new student: LCPS Registration Services, 571-252-2490, and online pre-registration
• Which school serves an address: LCPS Planning and GIS Services, 571-252-1050, or the LABEL address lookup
• Buses: LCPS Transportation, 571-252-1700 (transportation page)
• LCPS central office: 21000 Education Court, Ashburn, 571-252-1000

Principal

Principal Lenny Compton, according to the school’s website.

Enrollment and teachers

• State count: 1,127 students in fall 2025, its second year, up from 533 in fall 2024, when LCPS assigned it sixth grade only, in the School Quality Profile.
• Federal count: the school opened after the latest federal directory year, 2023-24, so it has no NCES enrollment figure yet.

State report card

Virginia rates each school two ways on its School Quality Profile. Accreditation shows whether the state has approved the evidence the Standards of Accreditation require. 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, as listed in the LCPS division summary.

• Accreditation, 2025-26: Fully Accredited
• Framework score: 93.86, rated Distinguished, in the division summary

Standards of Learning pass rates (share of tested students who passed), from the School Quality Profile:

The full profile also reports attendance, teacher data and spending.

Attendance zone

Watson Mountain has no zone of its own yet. On Feb. 14, 2023, the School Board chose a temporary arrangement instead of redrawing middle and high school zones, according to the LCPS Watson Mountain zone page. For 2025-26, 2026-27 and 2027-28, students who live in the Brambleton Middle and Independence High zone attend Watson Mountain for grades 6 and 7 and Brambleton Middle for grade 8, and Independence ninth graders use an annex at Brambleton Middle.

That zone holds 8,482 county address points: 7,223 (85%) in Brambleton’s ZIP code 20148, 746 (9%) in 20105 and 513 (6%) with a Leesburg ZIP code, 20175. None is inside the town limits. The elementary zones inside it, by share of address points: Legacy Elementary (29%), Creighton’s Corner Elementary (20%), Madison’s Trust Elementary (20%), Sycolin Creek Elementary (18%) and Elaine E. Thompson Elementary (13%). All but one of the Leesburg-addressed points are in the Sycolin Creek Elementary zone.

Thornton Summit High School is due to open next to Watson Mountain in fall 2028, without a senior class in its first year. From then, Watson Mountain serves grades 6 to 8, Brambleton Middle returns to grades 6 to 8, and LCPS will modify middle and high school zones in the Dulles North and Dulles South areas, the division says. Questions go to Planning and GIS Services at LCPSPlan@lcps.org or 571-252-1050.

Check one address in the LCPS LABEL lookup or on the division’s 2026-27 zone maps.

How we checked: we matched Loudoun County’s 140,704 address points against LCPS’s 2026-27 elementary and middle school zone layers and the town boundary. The shares are our count; the zone lines are the division’s own.

Calendar and bell times

From the 2026-27 LCPS calendar the School Board adopted:

• Wednesday, Oct. 28: end of the first quarter
• Thursday, Oct. 29, to Tuesday, Nov. 3: no school for students (Election Day is Nov. 3)
• Monday, Nov. 9: holiday
• Wednesday, Nov. 25, to Friday, Nov. 27: Thanksgiving break
• Monday, Dec. 21, to Friday, Jan. 1: winter break; classes resume Monday, Jan. 4
• Monday, March 22, to Friday, March 26: spring break
• Friday, June 11, 2027: last day of school

Weather closings are posted on the LCPS inclement weather page.

Students arrive from 8:30 a.m., the welcome bell rings at 8:45 a.m. and the last block ends at 3:38 p.m., according to the school’s 2026-27 bell schedule. The full bell schedule is on the school’s website.

More on Leesburg schools

• The school’s own page: lcps.org/o/wmm
• The state’s School Quality Profile for Watson Mountain Middle
• Every public school in Leesburg, with zones and state ratings
• Our Leesburg schools guide for the calendar, registration and the School Board

Frequently asked questions

What grades does Watson Mountain Middle School serve?

Grades 6 and 7 through the 2027-28 school year. It will serve grades 6 through 8 from fall 2028. The state counted 1,127 students in fall 2025.

How is Watson Mountain Middle School rated by the state?

It is fully accredited for 2025-26. In Virginia’s School Performance and Support Framework it scored 93.86 and is rated Distinguished.

Which high school does Watson Mountain Middle feed into?

Independence High. Watson Mountain students move to Brambleton Middle for grade 8 and then to Independence High, under the arrangement LCPS uses through 2027-28.

Who is the principal of Watson Mountain Middle School?

Lenny Compton, according to the school’s website.

What time does Watson Mountain Middle School start?

The welcome bell rings at 8:45 a.m. and the last block ends at 3:38 p.m.