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II. Education/Schools

Introductory Timeline about the opportunity for education provided for the enslaved and later generations.

• The Code of Virginia 1831 made it illegal to teach reading and writing to the enslaved.
• In the Plessy v. Ferguson 1896 decision, the US Supreme Court ‘s ruling upheld that facilities including schools that are separate for the races are legal.
• In October 1945, three African American associations in Fairfax County published the differences between White and “Negro” schools in the local newspaper entitled: OUR DISGRACE AND SHAME SCHOOL FACILITIES FOR NEGRO CHILDREN IN FAIRFAX COUNTY
• Brown vs. Board of Education 1954 The US Supreme Court rules that segregated schools are unconstitutional.
• On February 25, 1956, Massive Resistance to Desegregation began in Virginia. Laws were passed in Virginia with the intent of stopping the integration of schools. First, the governor would close any school facing a federal desegregation order. Second, the state government would attack the NAACP’s ability to bring suits. Third, supporters of the policy created the Commission on Constitutional Government . . and defended segregation and states’ rights in the court of public opinion.
• Repository: https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/massive-resistance/

Name	Notes
Bailey’s Cross Roads	A one room school opened  November 30, 1917. A two-room opened  January 20, 1922.
Bethlehem Baptist Church	In 1865 the community built a church with lumber from the US. Government. School was held in the church, also.
Cartersville Baptist Church	School was held in the Church from 1927 until 1939 when the Vienna Colored school opened.
Chantilly Baptist Church	It was in 1880 that Reverend Marshall D. Williams conducted the first service in a “Little Log School House” in Chantilly, Virginia. The Little Log School House occupied the one-acre of land that was purchased on which to build a church. A new church building opened in 1889.
Chesterbrook Colored School AKA Lincolnville	A one room schoolhouse opened in 1906; it was not owned by FCPS. Chesterbrook Methodist Episcopal began worshipping in the schoolhouse in 1906. On July 13, 1950, FCPS rented space for schooling from the church and later at the Chesterbrook Odd Fellows building.
Clifton Primitive Baptist Church	School was  held in the church in 1871.
Clifton Colored School	A one room school opened March 17, 1878. A two room school of Rosenwald** design opened February 25, 1922.
Drew-Smith Elementary School	The school opened 1952-1953 and closed June 1965.
Dranesville Colored School	The school opened around 1915 and closed in 1925.
Eleven Oaks School	Eleven Oaks Elementary School opened on September 8, 1953 and was closed in June 1966. Most Eleven Oaks students were integrated into nearby elementary schools.
Fairfax Colored School	A one room schoolhouse opened  July 5, 1882. [1878 Hopkins map shows Colored school house on Main Street near Fairfax City Cemetery.]
Fairfax Colored School 2	With community support and leadership of the  Fairfax Colored League, the Rosenwald design school was constructed between 1925 and 1926. The school closed in 1966.
First Baptist Church of Vienna	The church was built in 1867 and served as a school and meeting place for civic gatherings.
Fort Belvoir (Fort Humphries) Negro School	The U.S. Army installation has had many school buildings over the years. The schools were built with federal funds, but staffed and operated by educators from Fairfax County Public Schools. Fort Belvoir Records show that the schools on post were segregated at one time.
Floris Colored School AKA: Frying Pan Colored School	A one room  school opened March 8, 1870. A two-room school of  Rosenwald Design opened June 7, 1932.
Forestville Colored School	A one room school opened  August 30, 1884.
Gunston Colored School	The school opened November 25, 1882. Fairfax County Public Schools bought one acre of land for the segregated school.
Herndon Colored School	no information available
Hughesville School AKA Barnes Woods	Barnes Woods school operated from 1882-1883. Hughesville School was built on land once owned by the Barnes Family April 23, 1887.
Laurel Grove School	In 1881, William  Jasper donated a half-acre of his land for the construction of a school for the area’s black children. Fellow neighbors, parents, and grandparents donated lumber, etc. They labored together to erect an A-frame, single-room schoolhouse, typical of the era. The schoolhouse still stands today.
Little Bethel Church	The Church was built in 1918. During the week, the pews were converted into desks for the children to attend school.
Lincolnia Colored	No information
Louise Archer Elementary	See Vienna Colored School
Luther P. Jackson High School	The school opened in 1954 as the only high school for Black students in Fairfax County.
Manassas Industrial School	In 1937 a joint board from Fairfax, Fauquier, and Prince William bought the Manassas Industrial School to a establish a regional high school for Black students.
Merrifield Colored School	Prior to 1897 there had been a school for Black students. A one room school opened Jan 2, 1897. A two-room school opened in the Merrifield  Odd Fellows Hall on January 6, 1939. It was  not owned by Fairfax County Public Schools.
Mount Pleasant Baptist Church	A school was established in the church  by the Freedman’s Bureau in 1867. A one room school opened on February 26, 1877.
Oak Grove Colored School	A one room school opened in December 1891. A two room of Rosenwald Design opened on July 7,1930.
Oak Hill (Seminary) Colored	Originally the property was in Fairfax County. A one room opened on August 31, 1898 ( in today’s Fort Ward Park)  A two room school opened February 3, 1898 near present T.C. Williams High School.
Odrick’s School House	A one room opened March 28, 1885. A two-room brick school opened April 2, 1943.
Ox Road Colored	No information available
Rock Hill Freedman School AKA Fox’s Hill	The Rock Hill school was established in early 1868 by Charles and Jesse Harris. The school was incorporated into the Fairfax County Public School system when it was established in 1870. The school was located on present-day Naylor Road.
Second Baptist Church of Falls Church	A school met in the church around 1872.
Spring Bank Elementary School	A school opened 1890 and remained open until FCPS schools were integrated.
Vienna Colored	Prior to FCPS, a school that was supported  by the Freedmen’s Bureau starting September 1, 1867, met in the First Baptist Church of Vienna.  A one room schoolhouse opened October 21, 1896. This Vienna Colored School was the Town of Vienna’s public school for African American children until the Louise Archer school opened in 1939.
Woodlawn Colored	A school met in the  Woodlawn Methodist Church in Augus 4, 1866.  A. one  room schoolhouse opened November 13, 1888.
SOURCES	Jeff Clark  Data research – FCPS school deeds. Video Production Specialist; Communication and Community Relations Fairfax County Public Schools jfclark1@fcps.edu Fairfax County Public Schools What’s in a Name?: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?app=desktop&list=PLSz76NCRDYQGWuh3TuqmRkYGvI5e-4SO4 Memories of Luther Jackson High School: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?app=desktop&list=PLSz76NCRDYQGWuh3TuqmRkYGvI5e-4SO4

Rosenwald ** schools in Virginia

• Julius Rosenwald President of Sear and Roebuck helped provide funding to help the education of  African American students. The Fairfax Rosenwald School was built in 1925-1926 on School Street.  Rosenwald schools were educational facilities built with the assistance of the Rosenwald rural school building program, an initiative to narrow racial schooling gaps in the South by constructing better, more-accessible schools for African Americans. In Virginia, the initiative helped fund 382 schools and support buildings in seventy-nine counties.
• Repository:  https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/rosenwald-schools/

Desegregation of Fairfax County Public Schools began in 1960 and ended in the school year 1965-1966.

• Repository: https://www.fcps.edu/about-fcps/history/records/desegregation/schools/eleven-oaks
• https://www.fcps.edu/about-fcps/history/records/desegregation/schools

“African American Education in the Town/ City of Fairfax” [once part of Fairfax County]  

• by William Page Johnson II, The Fare Facs Gazette Vol. 4, Issue 1, Winter 2006  
• The author shares the history of schools once in Fairfax County and now part of the City School system. The experiences of both teachers and students are described. The history of a Rosenwald schools is included.  
• Repository: https://www.historicfairfax.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/HFCI41-2006.pdf  

Negro Education in Virginia by Guy Pruden Norris (Charlottesville, VA: University of Virginia, 1935)   

• Repository:  Fairfax County Public Libraries  

A history of education for black students in Fairfax County prior to 1954 by Evelyn D. Russell-Porte  

• Repository: Fairfax County Public Libraries   

Shades of Change: The Other Side of Floris – Videotape – Frying Pan Farm Park,  

• Sound recording with interviews about Floris Colored School and African American Children’s education  
• Department of Information Technology, Fairfax County Public Schools.  
• Repository: YouTube  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ULqtS64h2c   

A History of Public Secondary Education in Fairfax County by Lonnie J. Hinkle   

• Published 1971 This dissertation includes information about the secondary education of African Americans prior to desegregation.  
• Repository: Fairfax County Public Libraries   

Memories of Segregated Schools  

• Luther Jackson High School   
• James Lee and Merrifield Elementary Schools   
• Manassas Industrial School   
• Interviews of alumni who share their memories of attending segregated schools.  
• Repository: YouTube   
• James Lee and Merrifield: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqAIH-ysi9U
• Manassas Industrial School: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWTfah7kbUY

Desegregation - Oral History  

• Fairfax County Public Schools Alumni and Educators Share Memories of Desegregation   
• Rayfield Barber was the first Black student to integrate a FCPS public high school.  
• Joe and Sharon Parks integrated FCPS high schools. Joe attended Groveton High School and Sharon attended Fort Hunt High School.  
• Jacqueline Burruss - integrated Bucknell Elementary School. 
• Sheila Coates integrated the teaching staff at Floris Elementary School   
• Repositories: YouTube interviews https://www.fcps.edu/about-fcps/history/records/desegregation/oral-history 

“Honoring Sheila Coates during Women’s History Month 2018 Nevertheless, She Persisted” by Andrea Worker

• http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/news/2018/mar/12/nevertheless-she-persisted/   

Desegregation: The Leaders | Fairfax County Public Schools Who were the leaders of FCPS during desegregation?   

• School Board: December 1953. School Board: January 1964  
• Repository: https://www.fcps.edu  › about-fcps › history › records  

Desegregation: Writings | Fairfax County Public Schools  

• Letters and Other Documents Relating to the Desegregation of FCPS   
• Repository: https://www.fcps.edu/about-fcps/history/records/desegregation/writings

Desegregation: In the News | Fairfax County Public Schools  

• Journalists chronicled the Desegregation of FCPS ...  as recorded in the following newspapers The Chicago Defender, The Fairfax Herald, The Northern Virginia Sun  
• Repository: https://www.fcps.edu  › about-fcps › history › records  

“Desegregation in the 1960s Judy Street Joins the March to Selma” by Laura Olson Peebles  

• pp 205-210. Fairfax County Stories 1607-2007- Commemorating the 400th Anniversary of the  
• Jamestown Settlement 
• Describes how the Mount Vernon Unitarian Church led efforts to end segregation in Fairfax County and the nation.  
• Repository: Fairfax County Public Libraries   

Desegregation in Fairfax County, Virginia Schools  

• Road Toward Equity: Segregation and Desegregation
• Repository: https://sites.google.com/view/fcps-desegregation/home

Desegregation of Virginia Education (DOVE) by Old Dominion University

• Repository: https://www.odu.edu/library/places-spaces/special-collections/dove

School Histories | Fairfax County Public Schools  

• School Histories. An A-Z list of FCPS' School History pages.   
• Examples: Luther Jackson High School, Louise Archer School, Drew- Smith School   
• Repository: https://www.fcps.edu  › about-fcps › our-history › schools...  

History of Louise Archer School  

• Included in the history is information about county Rosenwald schools, Interview of William W. West who attended segregated schools and became a teacher, Vienna Colored School, Freedman’s School, and Odd Fellow Hall which was used as a school   
• Repository: https://archeres.fcps.edu/about/history/1866   

Fairfax County Public School Board minutes 1922-2020, online  

• Search by school –  
• Example search Pearson School   
• School minutes record on December 5, 1939, that the School Board granted permission to install electricity in Pearson School with the understanding that the Board would not pay for the cost or installation.  
• Repository: https://insys.fcps.edu/schoolboardapps/searchmenu.cfm   

Guideline to Fairfax County School Records and Ledgers 1870-1905  [FINDING AID]  

• Examples –  
• Teacher Registers; Teacher examinations- colored and white; School census including students’ names, ages, education, and race; daily operations: attendance, studies taught; financial records, teachers’ pay; school expenses and repairs; Virginia School Laws, 1892.  
• Repository: https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/circuit/sites/circuit/files/assets/documents/pdf/hrc/fairfax-countyschool-records-and-ledgers-1870-1905.pdf  

Records and Ledgers are located at the Historic Archives Center and are accessed in person.  

Manassas Industrial School   

Jennie Dean - Jennie Dean made secondary education possible for African Americans in Northern Virginia. Born enslaved in Loudoun County, Jennie Serepta Dean (April 15, 1848–May 3, 1913) became involved with education at about the age of 30 when she founded a Sunday school in Prince William County. From there she established more religious schools, several of which grew into church congregations. She also taught classes in cooking and sewing. Dean began planning a new institution[Manassas Industrial School for Colored Youth] that would teach skilled trades to African Americans. She, her sister, and one other person started building local support for the idea in 1888.

• Repository:  Virginia Changemakers: https://edu.lva.virginia.gov/changemakers/items/show/213

Manassas Industrial School for Colored Youth history

• Repository: https://www.manassasva.gov/things_to_do/manassas_museum/historic_sites/industrial_school___jennie_dean_memorial.php

The blood of the lamb: a story of the Manassas Industrial School for Colored Children told through the eyes of former students  by Dennis Howard  

• [Manassas Industrial School began as a residential school for black children. In 1938, Fairfax, Fauquier, and Prince William counties established a regional high school on the campus. Fairfax County Black students, who wanted to attend high school were bused to Manassas until the first high school for blacks, Luther Jackson High School opened in 1954.]  
• Repository:  City of Fairfax Regional Library Virginia Room  

Earl L. Pulley, Who is Earl Pulley?    

• Mr. Pulley was an educator and a principal. In administration he coordinated Human Relations and was President of the Fairfax County Teachers Association. He was a member of several community and religious organizations also.   
• Repository: https://pulleycenter.fcps.edu/node/2033   

Lutie Lewis Coates, What’s in a Name – School History Lutie Lewis Coates Elementary School   

• Coates was a teacher and principal in segregated schools in Fairfax County. She encouraged her students to take vocational courses and pursue higher education.  
• Repository:https://coateses.fcps.edu/about/history 

Oswald Robinson - Robinson was a principal at both segregated and integrated schools in Fairfax County Public Schools.  He worked under four superintendents and once was accused of being too nice to his teachers.  

• Repository: https://scholar.lib.vt.edu/faculty_archives/principalship/r/155robinson.html  

Louise Archer  - In 1922 Archer became teacher and principal for a one-room segregated school in Vienna. Devoted to her students, she worked to improve their learning experience. She organized a Parent Teacher Association to raise funds for supplies and a new building, which opened in 1939 with three rooms.  

• Repository: Virginia Changemakers, https://edu.lva.virginia.gov/changemakers/items/show/157   

Lillian Hopkins Carey was a teacher and principal at Bailey’s Elementary School

• Annandale Today  Explore A Park: Lillian Carey Park November 28, 2020
• https://annandaletoday.com/explore-park-lillian-carey-park-was/

“He Ho, Come to the Fair,” The Historical Society of Fairfax County, Virginia, Inc. Yearbook, Vol. 26, pp.83-85, Editors Dziobeck, Ring, Sprouse. Relates the history of segregated white and black county fairs in the early 1900s. School teachers encouraged students to compete at the county fairs.  

• Repository:   Virginia Room, City of Fairfax Regional Library     

Manassas Industrial School was founded in 1894 by once enslaved Jennie Dean to provide an industrial/vocational education for African American children. In 1938, surrounding counties began to pay for African American students to attend there.  In Fairfax County, some students traveled two hours one way, each day, to get an education.  On September l, 1954, Luther Jackson High School open providing a secondary education for all African American high school students who lived in the county. 

• Repository Manassas Industrial School You Tube

Memories of Luther Jackson High School: YouTube

• Includes  Former Student Interviews  
• A History of Luther Jackson High School by Mathelle Lee
• Repository: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaTg1hlaA-k

The story behind Fairfax County’s first high school for black students. (Luther Jackson High School)

• Repository: WUSA 9 by Natalie Hockaday February 2, 2023
• https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/local/virginia/the-story-behind-fairfax-countys-first-public-high-school-for-black-students/65-e191b928-ee36-4997-b4e0-a05eb21b0653

Education of African American Deaf Students

Twenty-four Black deaf students receive their diplomas years later.

• At least 24 Black deaf students who attended a segregated school on the grounds of Gallaudet University in Washington, DC, in the early 1950s never received their high school diplomas.
• Repository: CBS News CBS Miami
• https://www.cbsnews.com/miami/news/black-deaf-students-who-attended-1950s-segregated-school-to-finally-get-high-school-diplomas/

Galludet University presented diplomas to black and deaf students and honored four of their teachers.

• Repository: CBS News
• https://www.cbsnews.com/news/gallaudet-university-black-deaf-students-graduation-teachers-segregation/

A Vanished School Leaves Its imprint on a Changed Life

• Joseph Carpenter describes his experience attending the segregated Floris Colored School near Herndon. Carpenter walked five miles to school one way and was taught in one room with 39 other children.
• Repository:
• https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2001/04/19/a-vanished-school-leaves-its-imprint-on-a-changed-life/be176bdc-765a-4d81-89cb-0f63d2e4fefd/

A Community Builds a School for their Children. The Story of the Laurel Grove Colored School.

• Former slaves built the one-room schoolhouse. Parents, grandparents, and neighbors provided the materials and labor. They hired teachers, scraped together funds to purchase books and donated a piano and furnishings for the schoolroom.
• Repository: http://www.laurelgroveschool.org/about/history.html

Historic School’s Future Stirs Doubt by Mary Jordan

• In 1988, discussions began as to the future of the Luther Jackson High School.
• Repository:  The Washington Post  April 13,1988