Principal Joyce Hardcastle said she’s happy her students rank near the top on state standardized test scores.

“We wouldn’t be this successful if we weren’t all a team, and I really believe we have that team spirit here,” she said.

Little River is located in booming South Riding in southern Loudoun County. The school opened its doors in 2000 and has grown to about 1,000 students.

The school scored high marks in the number of first-graders who were reading at grade-level proficiency in 2005-06, according to its school improvement plan. Students in other grades also scored among the highest in the district in proficiency.

The improvement plan states that 96 percent of students passed all of their required SOL tests, topping the district’s goal of 90 percent.

Hardcastle, whose first year at the school was the 2006-07 school year, said the school works hard to make sure each student is familiar with the technology available to them.

Little River has several extracurricular opportunities for students, including extra art classes, chorus (for fourth and fifth grades), and a homework club (for fifth-graders).

The school doesn’t have an ESL program, although students needing extra help learning English attend half-day classes at a nearby school for help.

She said the school has a high number of parent volunteers. One of Little River’s biggest after-school events is the faculty basketball game in March.

The school also has a winter breakfast each December, as well as an annual spaghetti dinner.

Hardcastle said although the school already posts high scores, it is always working to improve.

“We do put kids first and look at their needs and make sure each child is challenged,” she said.