The Price's Fork Community began in 1740-1745 when immigrants of German ancestry settled in this area of Montgomery County, Virginia. The Community name originated from four brothers named Michael, Augustine, Daniel, and John Henry Price. They began the first known school on the western frontier of Virginia. This school was located at Matamoras. Price's Fork Village proper began after 1830. The first community school on record was built on land donated by James and Sarah Bane Price. While there may have been other one-room schools in this area most were eventually consolidated into the two-story frame school which was built beside the Grange across the street from the present building. The present Price's Fork Elementary School was first occupied during the 1952-53 school year. The location of this new school brought in students from the surrounding communities of Merrimac. This move brought about the demise of the old predominantly one-room schools in the area.

    During the years 1951-53, Mr. Eugene Peyton was principal of Price's Fork Elementary School, which was housed in the old frame building across the road from our present building. He was also the first principal of the present building which was first opened to students in 1952. The PTA was very active during Mr. Peyton's years at Price's Fork. It helped acquire new chairs for the auditorium and lunchroom.

    Class sizes were thirty to forty students and, though there were no special educational classes, individualization was emphasized. Grades were one through seven, with first and second grades being taught in a separate building in front of the school. Extracurricular activities included talent shows and an annual carnival.

    Church and state were not entirely separated as the local Lutheran Church organized a Boy Scout troop for the students. Weekend campouts emerged. The school day was opened with prayer and the pledge of allegiance to the flag. The introduction of new audiovisual instructional methods (educational films) proved, at times, to be in conflict with the rural religious values of the community. Sometimes students even refused to participate when instructional movies were shown.

    In 1957, Mary Sue Heslip became the first female principal of Price's Fork Elementary School. Very little is known about this period. On the other hand, much is known about the lady who was the next principal at Price's Fork Elementary School. From 1958 to 1972, Mrs. Georgia Pfieffer led Price’s Fork Elementary School.

    The core curriculum itself was basic - without significant outside influence, yet teachers added many exciting activities. An upper grade student of the60's would have a choice of photography, newspaper, drama, homemaking, industrial arts, Glee Club, band, typing, research, and/or cheerleading. Primary students might have beginner band or singing (i.e. the "Choroleers of '67"). The seventh grade enjoyed annual trips to Williamsburg, Jamestown, and Yorktown.

    Price's Fork Elementary School was integrated in 1965-66, as were schools across the state. Classes averaged twenty-five to thirty students. During this time, three grades (fifth, sixth, and seventh) often experienced combined classes.

    In 1973, the community saw the construction of the kindergarten addition. The school became the first in the county to initiate kindergarten visitation. In this program, preschoolers came to visit for a day the year before enrollment. It was the same year that the school also saw the loss of sixth and seventh grades as they were absorbed into Blacksburg Middle School. This caused enrollment to drop from in excess of 400 to less than three hundred. Absorbing room 104 enlarged the library. It also acquired a media (audiovisual) center. Being moved from the stage area to its own classroom boosted the music program.

    Carol Kivilighan transferred to Price's Fork Elementary School during the summer of 1990 as principal. She completed eight years as principal of Margaret Beeks Elementary. Here vision was to further enhance the educational practices established by Dr. Sellers. The focus of this development centered around expanding whole language instruction into curriculum integration and theme-based instruction, cooperative learning strategies, strong community involvement and support, and supporting teachers as they continued to develop into strong instructional leaders within the school and the school system.

    Dr. Larry Arrington followed Ms. Kivilighan as principal of Price's Fork. He remained in that capacity for two years. Several of the teachers were involved in a State Department grant which looked at the assessment of children who were five to eight years old. This study also looked at developmentally appropriate practices. Other schools in MCPS who were involved with the grant work were Riner, Beeks, and Bethel. During this time period, Kipps Elementary School was built to alleviate the crowded conditions at the four elementary schools in Blacksburg. In the summer of 1997, Dr. Arrington was named as Supervisor for Instructional Technology and was based in the Central Office.

    Dollie Cottrill was named principal of Price's Fork in July of 1994. Ms. Cottrill came to Price's Fork from Margaret Beeks Elementary in Blacksburg where she had been assistant principal for three years. In August of 1994, Kipps Elementary opened taking about seventy students from Price's Fork. Several teachers also were relocated to Kipps. The school's student population was about 220 with twelve classroom teachers, two at each grade level. The school continued toward an integrated curriculum and continued its investigation of multi-age classes.

    Price’s Fork Elementary School began involving the community in the school’s Continuous School Improvement Process at Price’s Fork in December, 1999. This group was charged with creating a vision/mission statement, developing goals, and providing input for the biennial school plan. The vision statement is reviewed on an annual basis. Our original facilitator team for the Continuous School Improvement process that was trained in August, 1999, included Kelly Linkenhoker (teacher), Beth MacDonald (teacher), Kelly Pleasant (parent), and Dollie Cottrill (principal). The CIP team at Price’s Fork was named the Community Aspiring to Reconnect Everyone (CARE) TEAM. A new CARE Team was formed during the 2001-02 school year and began to work together to develop goals for the next biennial plan. Mindi Walker (teacher), Charlie Fox (parent), and Leslie Roberson (teacher) were trained as facilitators that school year. As a basis to the development of new goals for the school, the members of the CARE TEAM, parents, teachers, and students were all surveyed to determine the areas of needed focus. The new team began meeting in January of 2002.

    During the 2000-2001 school year, our school community, under the guidance of the CARE TEAM and the faculty of Price’s Fork Elementary, adopted as our school’s philosophy the four priorities and building blocks that are endorsed by Ernest Boyer’s The Basic School: A Community for Learning. The first priority focuses on “The School as Community.” It is our belief that Price’s Fork is a place where “everyone comes together to promote learning.” All classrooms are connected by a sense of purpose. The classrooms and our school are communicative, just, disciplined, and caring places. At Price’s Fork, teachers assume leadership roles and parents become true partners in the education of their children. “A Curriculum With Coherence” is the second priority. The members of the Price’s Fork community believe that language is defined broadly to include not just reading, but also mathematics and the arts. Students are helped by teachers to see connections across disciplines and relate what they learn to their personal lives. “A Climate for Learning,” the third priority, endorses the idea that resources to enrich learning need to be available to enhance the learning environment. Our school is committed to finding those resources and to serving the whole child, acknowledging each student’s physical, social, and emotional well-being. Our school helps children and their families by providing some basic health and counseling services. “A Commitment to Character,” the fourth priority, is concerned with the ethical and moral aspects of a child’s life. The goal is to assure that all children, on leaving school, will have developed “a keen sense of personal and civic responsibility.” The core positive behaviors are taught through word and deed.