Annandale Terrace Elementary School

Here follows a history of the school as published on the Fairfax County Public Schools website:

Annandale Terrace Elementary School opened to students on September 1, 1964. At that time, Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) had a total enrollment of 90,400 students at 117 schools. Our first principal was Evelyn J. Tubbs. She had transferred to Annandale Terrace from Masonville Elementary School, where she had served as principal since 1958. Tubbs was succeeded in January 1965 by Jacqueline S. Benson, who served as principal until June 1966. William L. Jones, a former teacher at James Lee Elementary School, became principal after Ms. Benson. Jones was one of the first Black educators to be appointed principal of a formerly all-white school after FCPS desegregated.

Building Annandale Terrace
Construction of Annandale Terrace Elementary School began in the fall of 1963. Built by the Alcon Construction Corporation at a cost $499,746, Annandale Terrace originally had 20 classrooms. The school had no gymnasium, the library was located on the second floor above the main office, and the cafeteria was also used for band and strings instruction. Approximately 600 students were enrolled at Annandale Terrace during the 1960s.

Changing Demographics
During the 1970s, Fairfax County saw an influx of refugees fleeing war-torn Vietnam. The need for English as a Second Language (ESL) services soon became apparent and, by 1977, Annandale Terrace had its first full-time ESL teacher.

From 1976 to 1985, enrollment at Annandale Terrace Elementary School decreased from 523 to 323 students. Similar declines were taking place at other schools located in eastern Fairfax County that had seen tremendous growth during the Baby Boom. Annandale Terrace had three principals during this period: William S. Tarbox (1976-1980), Lenore H. Plissner (1980-1983), and Stephen D. Gossin (1983-1986).

Growth and Change
The first addition to Annandale Terrace was constructed in 1987. It consisted of a gymnasium and a music classroom. Three years later in 1990, when Beverly M. Moody was principal (1986-1995), Annandale Terrace underwent its first renovation. Ten classrooms and a new library were built at cost of $2.9 million.

A Glimpse Back in Time
In 1993, Annandale Terrace Elementary School was the subject of the FCPS television series Profile. The Red Apple 21 crew spent several days at Annandale Terrace, gathering interviews with teachers and classroom footage. The resulting 28-minute documentary provides a fascinating snapshot of our school in the early 1990s.

The Carol Beemer Library
In 1999, the Fairfax County School Board named Annandale Terrace's library in honor of Carol Beemer. Carol Beemer was a classroom teacher and librarian. For 35 years, she guided and inspired students to become lifelong readers. She also served as a mentor for new teachers and facilitated a children's literature discussion group for staff. When the student body became more diverse, Ms. Beemer stocked the library with books that promoted cultural pride. Carol Beemer left a lasting impression on faculty, parents, and community members and we are proud to have our library named in her honor.

Annandale Terrace in the 2000s
During the 1999-2000 school year, Annandale Terrace became one of the first FCPS schools to adopt full-day kindergarten. At that time, enrollment at our school was steadily increasing. From 2006 to 2010, the number of students swelled from 659 to 856. Trailers and modular buildings were brought in to provide much-needed classroom space.

On November 8, 2018, the School Board awarded the contract for Annandale Terrace’s second renovation. New classrooms, upgraded building systems, and a security vestibule were constructed at a cost of $20.9 million. The project was completed in fall 2020.

What's in a Name?
Learn about the origin of our school's name in this video produced for Fairfax County Public Schools’ cable television channel Red Apple 21.

Annandale Terrace Elementary School, named for the surrounding residential neighborhood, opened in 1964. The neighborhood, which was built beginning in 1958, was named for its location in Annandale as well as for the topography of the landscape. One definition of the word terrace is “a row of houses on raised ground or a sloping site.” The Annandale Terrace neighborhood was constructed on a terrace of land that slopes on its eastern boundary into Backlick Run, and on its northern and western boundaries into several small tributaries of Accotink Creek. No one knows for sure how or why the village came to be called Annandale, but some historians speculate it was named after a valley and town along the River Annan in Scotland. The first documented use of the name Annandale in Fairfax County is found in the records of the U.S. Post Office Department, which indicate that William Garges was appointed the first postmaster of the Annandale Post Office in 1837. A merchant and farmer from Bucks County, Pennsylvania, William Garges had purchased 134 acres of land in Fairfax County in 1820, near the present-day intersection of Columbia Pike and Little River Turnpike. In sales advertisements in the Alexandria Gazette, in 1841 and 1853, Garges referred to his property as “Anandale Farm.” The first public school in the village, the Annandale School, held classes in the basement of Annandale United Methodist Church from the 1870s until about 1884, when a one-room schoolhouse was constructed in the village. The schoolhouse expanded to two rooms in the early 20th century and was replaced by a brick school building in 1926. Between 1951 and 1967, rapid population growth in Annandale led to the construction of seven new school buildings in the vicinity. Among these new schools was Annandale Terrace Elementary School, which preserves in its name the rich history of the Annandale community and its schools of yesteryear.