Welcome to John Kerr Elementary School, home of the Cardinals, located in historic Winchester, Virginia in the heart of the beautiful Shenandoah Valley.  At John Kerr Elementary School our school theme is Destination Greatness:  Full Steam Ahead! where we strive to instill a hunger for greatness every day in the children we serve from Pre-Kindergarten through 4th grade.

The John Kerr Elementary School curriculum fuses art and creativity with STEAM to engage the whole child and foster exceptional achievement.  By blending the arts and sciences, students are highly engaged in experiences integrating artistic processes and the scientific method.  Students create visual, musical, and dramatic responses to learning demonstrating deep understanding of the creative and critical thinking processes.

The school was named for the first public school benefactor in Winchester, Mr. John Kerr, a prosperous cabinetmaker, whose shop was located at the northeast corner of Boscawen and Loudoun Streets on the downtown walking mall.  He died on November 15, 1875 and in his will, he arranged for funds to be used for the education of the children of Winchester.  In 1883, City Council added $6000 more to this total, and the John Kerr Public School building was erected.  In 1972, a new John Kerr School, located on Jefferson Street behind John Handley High School, was built. The first John Kerr building, at the corner of Cameron and Cork Streets, continues to serve hundreds of students each year as a facility for Shenandoah University fine arts and other special interest classes for learners of all ages.

The current and third iteration of John Kerr Elementary School is also the newest school in Winchester, opening it's doors to students for the first time in August, 2016.