Parents Select Potential Names for Lacey Elementary School

President Barack Obama and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis were just two of the names put forth at Wednesday evening’s community meeting to name the on the Lacey site at 3705 Crest Dr. in Annandale.

A group of about 30 parents were led by Shannon King with the Department of Professional Learning in a four-step process to select a name. For step one, parents were given three minutes to suggest a name and explain their reasoning to the crowd.

Some parents wanted a fresh start with the name while others wanted to have the name Mason, or names with variations of/or including the word Mason, in potential names. One resident from the Columbia Pines neighborhood proposed the name Mason Hills to represent the communities coming together and the strong community desire to have “Mason” somewhere in the name.

Eileen Garnett spoke in favor of the name Masonville, which was the previous name of the school before it was renamed the Lacey Center, due to its history and its connection to George Mason. Mason lived in Fairfax and is considered to be the “father of the Bill of Rights” and one of the founding fathers of the U.S. The board of the Broyhill Crest Community Association also endorsed the Masonville name.

One mother from the Sleepy Hollow Woods neighborhood read a note to the audience from her children during her three minutes. Her eldest daughter proposed the school be named after Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis “to honor her service to the United States and to all American women who have established a new and modern role as first lady”. Her sons suggested the school be named after Ruby Bridges because “as a kid just like us, Bridges was the first and only African-American student in New Orleans to attend a previously all white school… Her bravery in going to school when others did not want her to be there helped make it possible for all kids to have equal education…We learned about her in second and third grade. She is awesome.”

Other names presented during the meeting were Crestview, Mason Crest, North Annandale, and Obama ES. Although Fairfax County Public Schools has yet to decide on the special programs the school will have, one resident also suggested FCPS consider doing that prior to the naming process since it could potentially affect the name should the school specialize in arts and science or similar topics.

During group discussions for step two, some parents suggested keeping in mind school colors and mascots when considering the names. Naming a school after a living person such as the School in Centreville was also a concern for some due to the potential difficulty in getting the name approved.

Prior to voting, Richard Rockenbach voiced his concern during step three of the process about whether any of the other parents were uncomfortable retaining the Masonville name since some areas of Fairfax County were segregated while the school was open prior to desegregation in the 1970s.

“The history of a school is important,” said Rockenbach. “We don’t have to go back to that history.”

In the fourth step, or the voting, Masonville and Mason Crest had the highest total of weighted votes, but because neither received more than half of the votes, there was a runoff voting round. In the first round Mason Crest received 33 points and Masonville received 22 votes. In the runoff round, Mason Crest received 10 votes and Masonville received seven.

“Your passion that came through tonight, when it comes down to it, it’s about your kids,” said Principal Brian Butler. “We want to have a identity… I really think this will bring us together. It gives the kids an opportunity to say ‘this is my school, this is our new school, our new community’ and I think that’s how we move forward.”

Dan Parris, assistant superintendent for Cluster III, said Superintendent Jack Dale will review the information from the meeting and give his recommendation to the School Board as new business. The School Board has the final vote in deciding the name.