New Middle School Named for Legendary African-American Falls Church Educator

In a dramatic 4-3 vote Tuesday night, the Falls Church School Board chose to name its new middle school for local African-American Falls Church educator and civil rights activist Mary Ellen Henderson.

The new middle school building is currently under construction on the George Mason Middle and High School campus at 7124 Leesburg Pike and is on schedule to open next September.

Board chair Kathryn Chandler cast the tie-breaking vote after the first vote was a 3-3-1 deadlock. Both Ms. Henderson and former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt received three votes in the first round, and George Mason one. The final vote was four for Ms. Henderson and three for Ms. Roosevelt.

Ms. Henderson, known affectionately as "Miss Nellie" among her large following in the Falls Church community between the time of her arrival here in 1911 and her death in 1976, was a pioneering educator and social justice advocate among African-Americans in this area.

She began teaching fourth through seventh graders at the two-room Falls Church Colored School in 1917 that later became the James Lee School on Annandale Road. She was active in the Falls Church NAACP, the League of Women Voters, the Girl Scouts and her local church.

She was a champion of civil rights and her efforts contributed to the implementation of the 1954 U.S. Supreme Court decision on school integration that led to the full integration of Falls Church schools in 1961.

Among her most noted achievements was a 1936 report she prepared for Fairfax County officials on the disparity of educational facilities and services between schools serving white and African-American students which resulted in a significant improvement in conditions for the African-American schools.

"She changed the way we all think, and in that way she is comparable to those our other schools have been named after," said School Board member Ruth Brock, who placed Ms. Henderson's name into nomination. "She worked here. She is our example," she said. "By naming the school for her we will be memorializing her contribution to our society."

Dr. Jerome Barrett, who seconded the nomination, said that Ms. Henderson "devoted her life to kids and justice." Noting that "the state does not have a proud history of race relations, and that's putting it mildly," she said naming the school for Ms. Henderson "would appeal to the best values in our city. It puts the school board and the school tradition here in favor of those who struggle for justice while keeping kids in their minds."

A brief biography of Ms. Henderson, presented to the School Board by her supporters, is published elsewhere in this edition.

In a lengthy process, the School Board appointed a "School Naming Committee" which began with a list of 27 proposed names. The committee narrowed the choices to six, which it forwarded to the School Board in December. They were Ms. Henderson, Ms. Roosevelt, George Mason, Anne Mason, Dolly Madison and Tripps Run.

After receiving input at a public hearing last month, and numerous letters, the Board determined to make its final choice this Tuesday.

Speakers at a public hearing prior to the vote all spoke in favor of naming the school for Ms. Henderson. They included Victor Dunbar, former chair of the Fairfax NAACP, Civil Rights Archivist Nikki Graves, Ms. Henderson's grandson and Falls Church civil rights activist Edwin B. Henderson II, who presented letters from the Arlington NAACP and the Girl Scouts Council of the Nation's Capital, John Johnson from the Fairfax County NAACP and Falls Church CPA Michael Diener, on the board of the Tinner Hill Heritage Foundation.

The School District's Hunter Kimble reported that letters received since the Board's last hearing totaled 20 for George Mason, eight for Ms. Henderson, seven for Ms. Roosevelt, four for Tripps Run and two for Dolly Madison.

After Brock and Barrett nominated Ms. Henderson's name, and Kieran Sharpe indicated his support for it, Joan Wodiska nominated the name of Ms. Roosevelt and it was seconded by Jay Grusin, with Craig Cheney indicating his support. Finally, Board chair Chandler nominated George Mason, known as the "Father of the Bill of Rights."

The first vote, therefore, was three for Ms. Henderson, three for Ms. Roosevelt and one for George Mason. According to rules decided upon in advance, Mason's name was removed, and a second vote taken between Ms. Henderson and Ms. Roosevelt.

A 10-minute recess was called before the final vote, and when it was taken, it was three-to-three between Ms. Henderson and Ms. Roosevelt when it came to Kathryn Chandler for the deciding vote. When she announced it was for Ms. Henderson, the gathering of those in the room there to support Ms. Henderson broke into applause, and there were a few tears of joy in the lobby right after that.

"This was a very difficult choice," Chandler said after her vote. "It has been a wonderful opportunity to be able to name a school."

The new middle school building will include a 1,000 seat capacity gymnasium that will be used by George Mason High School for interschool sports competitions. Arrangements are still being worked out on how to best give the gym the look and feel of a GMHS home sports venue during events while also reflecting the identity of the new middle school during off-event times, according to Dr. Leslie Rye, head of the George Mason High Athletic Booster Club. "It will be the high school's varsity sports gym that just happens to be located in the middle school building. I think everybody understands that's the intent," she said.