Our School

Welcome to Stafford Elementary!

At Stafford Elementary, our primary aim is to provide an exceptional education for all our students. Our dedicated teaching team maintains high expectations for the academic success of every child.

We take pride in delivering lessons that align closely with the Virginia Standards of Learning across all academic subjects: language arts, math, science, and history. Emphasizing C5W—Communication, Collaboration, Creativity, Critical Thinking, Citizenship, and Wellness (the next generation skills)—we are committed to preparing our young learners for the future.

Furthermore, our school boasts exemplary programs in art, music, physical education, and technology, ensuring a well-rounded educational experience for every student.

Explore our VA School Report Card for comprehensive school information, including student performance, accreditation rating, school safety, attendance rates, and details about our experienced and qualified teaching staff.

We're thrilled to have you be a part of our Stafford Elementary family, where learning is engaging, enriching, and empowering for all!

School Hours

Mission and Vision

SES Vision & Mission Statement

Stafford Elementary is a community where compassion and
innovation drive education to empower learners.

SWIM - Support, Wonder, Inspire, Motivate

Support - Support for our school is: People helping people to excel and succeed!
Wonder - Creating an environment of curiosity, surprise and inquiry while appreciating other perspectives.
Inspire - Creating opportunities that spark interest and a desire to learn more.
Motivate - Encouraging others to strive for progress and persevere.

Quality Profile

School Improvement Plan

Goal 1: Support high expectations for academic performance and expand opportunities for every student.
- Objective: Stafford County Public Schools will close performance gaps between reporting categories, improving performance for every student.
  - Target 1: By the end of the school year, 100% of students receiving early targeted intervention will show growth in the area of their intervention.
  - Target 2: By the end of January 2024, at least 50% of our students will be on tier 1 or higher, in accordance with SCPS tiering guidelines, in reading and math as measured by PALs, AMC, and MAP assessments.
  - Target 3: By the end of May 2024, at least 70% of our students will be on tier 1 or higher, in accordance with SCPS tiering guidelines, in reading and math as measured by PALs, AMC, and MAP assessments.
Goal 2: Ensure every student, staff, and family member receives a safe, engaging, and welcoming environment in our schools.
- Objective: Close gaps in climate perception across and within schools for students, teachers, and families.
  - Target 1: Using the climate survey from fall, teacher rating scales will be 3.0 or higher in support from admin and principal, clear communication, and fairness.
  - Target 2: Duplicate the fall survey and administer it to the staff sometime in January, teacher ratings scales will be a 3.3 or higher in support from admin and principal, clear communication, and fairness.
  - Target 3: Using the climate survey from spring, teacher rating scales will be 3.5 or higher in support from admin and principal, clear communication, and fairness.
Goal 3: Ensure every student, staff, and family member receives a safe, engaging, and welcoming environment in our schools
- Objective: Close gaps in climate perception across and within schools for students, teachers, and families.
  - Target 1: By the end of the first quarter, the students in last year’s cohort of chronically absent students (21.25%) will have missed no more than 2 days of school.
  - Target 2: By the end of the second quarter, 90% of students will have missed five or fewer days of school.
  - Target 3: Annual chronic absenteeism rate will be no more than 15%.

School Policies

Car Rider

Arrival/Dismissal Procedures

You will be asked to complete a Car Rider/Walker Dismissal form that will be used to provide you with two car rider tags. One must be displayed in your car window for identification when you come to pick up your child, who will then be released to your car by the staff member supervising car- riders.

When you come to pick up your car-rider, please enter the driveway on the right side of the school, through the parking lot in front of the school. Stay in the line. Stay in your car. Your child will be released to you at the back of the parking lot. Please drive slowly and do not pass cars in front of you. Remember school buses have the right of way. The safety of our children is of the utmost importance.

Please keep in mind:

Car rider drop off in the morning will begin at 7:55 a.m. and end at 8:25 a.m.
Car rider staff open the doors at 7:55 a.m.
Children are required to be in their seats at 8:25 a.m. to start instruction.
If you arrive at 8:25 a.m. or later, you must park your car and walk your students to the front office to sign them in. If there are no staff members directing traffic, this is another sign to park and bring your children into the building.

Please help us by doing the following to keep the car rider line running smoothly:

Please follow all staff members’ directions.
Please DO NOT let the children out of the car before the staff is outside.
Have the children ready with their backpacks on when you pull up to the sidewalk
Have the children get out of the car on the passenger side only.

For dismissal:

Please do not start the car line up before 2:30 p.m. Starting earlier than this time causes a line of cars that can impede our daily routines.
Please help your child learn their car rider number.
Remind children to pay attention when they are waiting to be dismissed.

If you need to change your child’s dismissal routine for any reason, please send an email to your child’s teacher and sesfrontoffice@staffordschools.net. Please do this BEFORE 2 p.m.

Late Arrival/Early Dismissal

Children who are tardy should say the following statement:

If your child arrives at school after 8:25 a.m., you must accompany them to the office and sign them in. Once the children are signed in, they will be sent to class.

Early Dismissal

If you need to pick up your children early for any reason, please send an email to your child’s teacher and sesfrontoffice@staffordschools.net. Please note the time and who will be picking up your children. Also, remember that whomever is checking out the children must have a government issued photo ID, as it is required for checking the children out.

Cafeteria Account Information

Breakfast and lunch are available to all students every day. Prices are available on the Nutrition Services webpage .

You can keep track of all your children’s food purchases through SchoolCafe.com. Within this website you can check your children’s balances, set up low balance alerts, add funds to your children’s accounts, and even schedule automatic payments. If you have any questions regarding your children’s accounts, please feel free to contact our cafeteria manager at 540.658.6340.

Visitors

Volunteers

We welcome volunteers within our school. Throughout the year there are many opportunities where parents can volunteer to help – class activities, book fair, field day, and many PTA events. If you are interested in volunteering, please check with your child’s teacher, or contact the PTA at StaffordElementaryPTA@gmail.com.

Visitors

To keep our school community safe, all visitors must be admitted to our school building. To enter our building, you must ring the doorbell on the wall outside of our front doors and show a current, government issued ID. Upon seeing your ID, you will be admitted entry to our front office. Then your ID will be scanned into our Raptor System; therefore, you must bring the actual ID, photo versions cannot be accepted.

Once scanned into the Raptor System, you will be provided with a visitor’s badge to wear. You must always wear the badge while in our building. When you leave, please return the badge to the office.

Field Trips

Our grade levels participate in field trips throughout the year. When they are scheduled teachers will send out information regarding the need for chaperones. If you are interested in chaperoning, please complete the forms sent home and the teachers will let you know if your name has been chosen to participate.

Please keep in mind, some field trips require chaperones to be fingerprinted and have a background check completed before accompanying our students. This process is not a quick one and can take approximately 3 weeks. It starts with a form that must be picked up from the front office, and an appointment must be made and completed with the Department of Risk Management. After the fingerprints are taken, we must wait for the results. This must happen before the adult can attend the field trip. Therefore, early planning is essential.

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