Herndon High, 700 Bennett Street, Herndon: grades 9-12, 2,098 students in fall 2025, zoned for north Reston, 89% on-time graduation. Office: 703-810-2200.
Last checked Oct. 20, 2026. Sources: Herndon High School, the FCPS school profile, the Virginia Department of Education’s School Quality Profile, the federal NCES school directory and the VHSL alignment.
Herndon High School, in the Town of Herndon, is the zoned high school for north Reston. Of the roughly 24,200 addresses inside Reston’s Census boundary in Fairfax County’s address file, about 18% fall in its zone on the county’s 2026-27 attendance maps: the Aldrin and Armstrong elementary zones around North Point Village Center and Lake Newport Road. The rest of Reston goes almost entirely to South Lakes High. The FCPS profile says the school serves students from Herndon, Reston and Great Falls. Herndon calls itself the oldest continuously operating high school in Fairfax County: its first building went up on Locust Street in 1911, and it moved to Bennett Street on Sept. 5, 1967, according to its history page. Its teams are the Hornets.
Who to call
- Main office: 703-810-2200
- Attendance: 703-810-2282
- Registering a new student: FCPS Student Registration, 703-204-6740
- Buses: FCPS Transportation Services, 703-446-2000
| Address | 700 Bennett Street, Herndon, VA 20170 |
| Grades | 9 to 12 |
| School day | 8:10 a.m. to 2:55 p.m. |
| Website | herndonhs.fcps.edu |
| Division | Fairfax County Public Schools, Region 1, Herndon High pyramid |
Principal
Principal Cheronda Farrish, according to the school’s administration page. Krisna Taylor is director of student services and Tzeitel Barcus is director of student activities. Five assistant principals each handle a slice of the alphabet by student last name.
Enrollment and teachers
- State count: 2,098 students in fall 2025, against 2,267 in 2024 and 2,369 in 2023, in the School Quality Profile.
- Federal count: 2,360 students in the 2023-24 school year, with 192 full-time-equivalent teachers, according to the NCES directory. That works out to about 12 students per teacher.
State report card
Virginia rates each school two ways on its School Quality Profile. Accreditation shows whether the school meets the state’s Standards of Accreditation. 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.
- Accreditation, 2025-26: Fully Accredited
- Framework score: 83.55, rated Approaching Expectations, in the FCPS division summary
- On-time graduation: 89%. Of 575 students in the class of 2026 cohort, 509 graduated on time, 270 of them with an advanced studies diploma. Sixty-one students (11%) dropped out.
Standards of Learning pass rates (share of tested students who passed):
| Subject | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | 2025-26 |
|---|---|---|---|
| English reading | 78% | 76% | 84% |
| Math | 77% | 73% | 73% |
| Science | 63% | 62% | 69% |
The full profile breaks the results down by student group and also reports attendance, college enrollment, spending and teacher data.
Attendance zone
Enter an address in the FCPS boundary locator to see its assigned schools. On the county’s 2026-27 attendance area maps, Herndon High’s zone and the Herndon Middle zone are the same, so every Herndon Middle student goes on to Herndon High. The elementary zones inside it are:
- Aldrin Elementary and Armstrong Elementary, the two in Reston
- Herndon, Dranesville, Clearview and Hutchison elementary schools, in and around the Town of Herndon
Inside Reston, every address zoned for Aldrin or Armstrong goes to Herndon Middle and Herndon High. FCPS’s comprehensive boundary review, approved by the School Board in January 2026, set the zones that took effect this 2026-27 school year, according to the FCPS boundary review page. The locator shows each address’s current assignment.
Calendar and bell times
From the FCPS 2026-27 school year calendar:
- Friday, Oct. 30: end of the first quarter, two-hour early release
- Monday, Nov. 2, and Tuesday, Nov. 3: student holidays (Nov. 3 is Election Day)
- Nov. 25-27: Thanksgiving break
- Dec. 21 to Jan. 3: winter break
- March 22-26: spring break
- Wednesday, June 16, 2027: last day of school, a two-hour day for high school students
Herndon runs a red day and black day block schedule. First period starts at 8:10 a.m. and the last period ends at 2:55 p.m., according to the school’s bell schedule page, which also lists every red and black day for 2026-27 and the early-release and two-hour delay schedules.
Sports and activities
Herndon plays in Class 6, Region D, Liberty District, according to the VHSL alignment. The district’s other schools are George C. Marshall, Langley, McLean, Wakefield, Washington-Liberty and Yorktown.
The Hornets’ athletics site carries schedules, rosters and scores; this fall it lists football, girls flag football, field hockey, cross country and boys and girls volleyball. The school’s history page lists state championships in boys basketball (1951), football (1965), boys track and field (1965, 1966 and 1967), boys gymnastics (1977, 1990, 1991 and 2000), boys soccer (1986) and girls cross country (2003), and says the county’s first NJROTC program began at Herndon in 1984.
The FCPS profile says Herndon offers a full range of Advanced Placement courses, dual enrollment courses and honors courses in grades 9 to 12, and names the robotics team and the “Spirit of Herndon” marching band.
Follow the Hornets on our Friday night football page and the high school scoreboard.
More on Reston schools
- The FCPS school profile for Herndon High.
- Every public school in Reston, with zones and state ratings.
- Reston neighborhoods and the North Point neighborhood guide.
Frequently asked questions
Which parts of Reston go to Herndon High School?
North Reston: the Aldrin and Armstrong elementary zones around North Point Village Center and Lake Newport Road, about 18% of addresses inside Reston on Fairfax County’s 2026-27 attendance maps.
What grades does Herndon High School serve?
Grades 9 through 12. The state counted 2,098 students in fall 2025.
How is Herndon High School rated by the state?
It is Fully Accredited for 2025-26. In Virginia’s School Performance and Support Framework it scored 83.55 and is rated Approaching Expectations.
What is Herndon High School’s graduation rate?
89%. Of 575 students in the class of 2026 cohort, 509 graduated on time, according to the state’s School Quality Profile.
What time does Herndon High School start?
First period starts at 8:10 a.m. and the school day ends at 2:55 p.m., according to the school’s bell schedule.
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