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ResourcesEspecially ForCurator: Rose Kaspersen |
News Releases
Friday, April 03, 2009 Fairfax County School Board Names Two New Elementary Schools The Fairfax County School Board has named the two new elementary schools that are scheduled to open in September. The new school in the Coppermine area of Fairfax County will be Lutie Lewis Coates Elementary School, and the new school in the Laurel Hill area of Fairfax County will be Laurel Hill Elementary School. Participants who live within the boundaries of the new schools voted at community meetings for their top choices using a weighted point system. The top choice of community members was then passed along to Superintendent Jack D. Dale, who submitted his recommendations to the School Board. Lutie Lewis Coates Elementary is named after an African American educator who taught and served as principal at the former Floris Colored School, which was located less than a mile from the current school, and taught at Luther Jackson High School—now Jackson Middle School—in the 1940s and 1950s. Coates, whose teaching career spanned 32 years in Fairfax County Public Schools, was known for her compassion and concern for the well-being of her students as well as for providing a strong foundation in the academic basics and character education for all students. Coates was known to feed students who came to school without lunch and to take in students who needed care. Laurel Hill Elementary is named after the Laurel Hill House, home of Major William Lindsay, who served in the Virginia militia during the American Revolution. The Laurel Hill name came from his family’s plantation in Ireland. Laurel Hill House served as the residence of the Lorton Prison superintendent for many years and currently is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The name Laurel Hill was the overwhelming choice of citizens who voted at the public meeting held in March.
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