Columbia Elementary School

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

Columbia Elementary School opened on September 5, 1967, with a population of 525 students. Only 15 of those children lived in the immediate neighborhood and walked to school. All others were transported by school buses. When our school opened there was no air-conditioning, the library was on the second floor, and physical education and music were taught in regular classrooms. However, we were equipped with the latest technology of that time: a 16mm movie projector, opaque and overhead projectors, tripod-mounted screens, a 35mm film camera, listening centers for students, and a dry mount press.

The first major change to our building took place during the 1987-88 school year when a new wing was constructed adding a gym, music room, and School Age Child Care (SACC) rooms. The new addition also had central air-conditioning, something the older part of our building still had to do without until our school was renovated during the 1994-95 school year. Construction took place while school was still in session, so teachers, staff, and students were moved periodically into temporary locations in trailers or in different parts of the building until the renovation was complete. The renovation added a new media center, reading room, art room, computer lab, and an elevator to our building. Mrs. Lewis, Columbia’s principal at the time, held a rededication ceremony on June 6, 1995. The 1995 kindergarten class created a time capsule that was sealed until our school’s 40th anniversary celebration in 2007. At our school’s 50th anniversary celebration, held in March 2018, we opened a time capsule sealed in 2007, finding gifts of photographs, t-shirts, student artwork and other memorabilia.

What is the origin of the name Columbia?

Columbia Elementary School opened in 1967. In the 1700s, the term Columbia came into use as a pseudonym for the colonies in America, meaning the “Land of Columbus” after explorer Christopher Columbus. Later, Columbia became the symbolic name of the United States, similar to the way the term Uncle Sam is used to describe the government today. Columbia was always depicted as a woman. Her image was gradually replaced in the national consciousness by the Statue of Liberty. When our nation’s capital was founded, it was given the name District of Columbia because the city was designated a federal district distinct from the states. The original boundaries of Washington DC included portions of Maryland and Virginia. The Maryland portion was called Washington County, District of Columbia. The Virginia portion was called Alexandria County, District of Columbia, and included present day Arlington County and portions of the City of Alexandria. In the 1847 retrocession, Alexandria County was returned to Virginia.
Names throughout the region, like Columbia Pike, continue to reflect the area’s history as part of the nation’s capital. The name Columbia has been used over the years to name cities, rivers, schools, record and film companies, ships and NASA space exploration vehicles. The patriotic tune “Hail, Columbia” was once an unofficial national anthem of the United States. It is now played as the entrance march for the Vice President.

East Annandale
During its original construction our school was referred to as East Annandale Elementary School. At its meeting on August 21, 1967, the Fairfax County School Board officially named our school Columbia Elementary because of its location in the center of an area bounded by Columbia Pike and Old Columbia Pike. Planning for our school began as early as March 1965 when school system records show negotiations were underway to acquire land for a school in the East Annandale area. Our school was designed by the architecture firm of Pickett & Siess, and was modeled after their design for Spring Hill Elementary School. The construction contract for our school was awarded to M. L. Whitlow in the amount of $573,600 on November 10, 1966.

Our Principals

1967 – 1970: Helen R. McDowell
1970 – 1979: Harriet P. Parrott
1979 – 1980: Kay P. Steiert
1980 – 1989: Mark Summers
1989 – 1995: Donna Lewis
1995 – 1998: Jean Nikovits
1998 – 2007: Stephanie H. Daugherty
2007 – 2021: Michael R. Cunningham
2021 – Present: Michael Astudillo