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Crestwood Elementary School

GPS Coordinates: 38.7874347, -77.1944552
Closest Address: 6010 Hanover Avenue, Springfield, VA 22150

Crestwood Elementary School

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

Crestwood Elementary School opened during the post-World War II period known as the baby boom. In September 1949, there were approximately 12,300 students enrolled in Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) at 42 schools. By December 1959, that number would climb to 54,100 students at 84 schools. FCPS administrators had been projecting record enrollment growth for several years, but were unprepared when actual growth far exceeded their expectations. Rapid development of the Springfield area in the 1950s led to severely overcrowded conditions at Franconia and Garfield Elementary Schools. FCPS administrators hastened to build Crestwood, Lynbrook, and North Springfield elementary schools, but construction proceeded slowly because there was very limited funding for school construction. Crestwood Elementary opened mid-year, on leap day, February 29, 1956. We invite you to explore some facets of our unique and fascinating history.

What’s in a Name?
Crestwood Elementary School takes its name from the surrounding neighborhood, but have you ever wondered how the name Crestwood originated? It’s a story that begins with Seabees on the island of Samar in the Philippines. Learn more in this video produced for Fairfax County Public Schools’ cable television channel Red Apple 21:

Crestwood Elementary School opened on Leap Day, February 29, 1956. The name Crestwood can be traced to three individuals: Bernard Steinber, E. Carl Hengen, and Roger Hildin. During World War II, the men served together in the 64th United States Naval Battalion as Seebees. The word Seebee comes from the initials "C. B." which stand for "construction battalion." Seebees built bases, bulldozed and paved roadways and airstrips, and accomplished a variety of other construction projects as part of the war effort. While on the island of Samar in the Philippines, Steinberg, Hengen and Hildin talked about going into the home construction business in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan region after the war.

In December 1946, Steinberg and Hengin put their dream into action breaking ground on their first house at 1505 Crestwood Drive in Alexandria. The men named their company the Crestwood Construction Corporation after this first home. In the late 1940's Crestwood Construction built some 1,500 homes in Arlington and Alexandria. The company was known for building homes rapidly, using pre-fabricated sections and engineering advancements the men had become familiar with while serving as Seebees. 1951 was a significant year for Crestwood Construction. In March, the third partner Roger Hildin joined the company and in April, Crestwood purchased 593 acres of land in the Springfield area from another developer, Edward R. Carr. In December, the company broke ground on the first of thirteen model homes in what would become known as Crestwood's Springfield neighborhood. Many of these original model homes still stand today along Backlick Road and Amherst Avenue.

Rapid growth of the Federal government workforce at this time created a tremendous need for housing in northern Virginia. People flocked to see Crestwood's new Springfield housing community where 5,000 planned new homes to be served by four new elementary schools were beginning construction. The homes proved to be very popular with buyers and sold at an average of one per day during the mid-1950's. When Crestwood Elementary School opened in 1956, over 1,500 homes had been completed in the neighborhood. Within a few short years, the school and Crestwood's Springfield housing community would become well established fixtures in Fairfax County's suburban landscape.

School History - Our Building

Prior to the opening of Crestwood Elementary School on February 29, 1956, our students were housed at Garfield Elementary School. While at Garfield, future Crestwood teachers and students were administratively grouped separately from Garfield’s staff and students with the intention that Crestwood’s teachers and their classes would move together to the new building when it opened.

Garfield’s principal, Woodrow Thomas Robinson, served as the principal of the Crestwood-bound students and staff until January 1956, when Evelyn Lynn was appointed principal of Crestwood Elementary School. 16 teachers and approximately 540 students transferred from Garfield to Crestwood in February.

"What was cool was how we moved from Garfield to Crestwood. School buses came and our desks were put on the buses and taken to Crestwood. The kids who were going to Crestwood walked with their classmates and teacher, single file, up Old Keene Mill Road, crossed the road at Hanover Avenue, and continued on Hanover to Crestwood. We lived on Amelia Street, and it was great to finally be in a school that was only a couple blocks from home."
~ Pat Springer, Crestwood Alumna

Design and Construction
Crestwood Elementary School was designed in 1954 by the architecture firm of Willgoos and Chase, and the original 16-classroom building was constructed by E. L. Daniels, Inc. of Arlington, Virginia, at a cost of $493,616. Construction began in April 1955, but a nationwide shortage of steel hampered construction progress. In addition to the 16 classrooms, the original building had a teacher workroom, a health clinic, a library, administrative offices, a kitchen, and a cafeteria that also doubled as an auditorium.

Crestwood Elementary was dedicated at a ceremony on May 8, 1956. The dedication was held during a regular monthly meeting of the joint Garfield and Crestwood P.T.A. at Crestwood Elementary. Local dignitaries, P.T.A. members, school staff, and students were present. Cub Scout Pack 691, still in our area today, presented the colors, and an American flag that had flown over the United States Capitol was donated to our school.

During the summer of 1956, construction began on a six-classroom addition to Crestwood Elementary School. The addition was built by Earl K. Rosti, Inc., of Falls Church, Virginia, at a cost of $104,521. At the start of Crestwood’s second year in September 1956, our school was already overcrowded. Children from the new Lynbrook and North Springfield neighborhoods were housed at Crestwood until Lynbrook Elementary School opened in February 1957, and North Springfield Elementary School opened in September 1957. Prior to the opening of these schools, Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) administrators rented Sunday School classrooms in nearby churches to serve as temporary classroom spaces. Enrollment in the Greater Springfield area schools stabilized in the mid-1960s and gradually declined during the 1970s.

A Different Time
In the 1950s, FCPS students had to follow a strict dress code. Children were not allowed to wear t-shirts or jeans. Boys had to wear button-down shirts, tucked into their pants. Girls were only allowed to wear dresses or skirts, with either ankle or knee socks. Fears of a nuclear conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union were ever present, and air raid drills were held at Crestwood in which students practiced going into the hallways and getting into what was called the "tuck and duck" or "turtle" position.

An air raid siren was atop the tower behind our school (on the far right side of the photograph). The siren was tested every Wednesday at 11:00 a.m. The siren was so loud that teachers were forced to stop their lessons until the test was finished.

In the 1950s, the majority of FCPS teachers were female—in fact, 15 of Crestwood’s first 16 teachers were female. Crestwood's first teachers earned between $3,400 and $4,400 per year, depending on their years of experience and level of education.

Elementary schools in Fairfax County educated children in grades 1-7 until 1960—when FCPS opened its first intermediate schools—and there were no kindergartners at Crestwood until 1968. A kindergarten program was piloted in several schools in 1967 and proved so successful that one year later FCPS implemented kindergarten county-wide.

When Crestwood opened, public schools in Virginia were segregated by race. In 1965, almost every former all-African-American FCPS elementary school ceased operation (one notable exception is Louise Archer Elementary School in Vienna). These schools were located in predominantly African-American enclaves, necessitating the busing of students out of these neighborhoods to formerly all-white schools.

School segregation and residential segregation were deeply intertwined in Virginia. Since at least the early 20th century, legal land documents for Springfield area properties had language in them which was designed to permanently restrict the sale of the land to Caucasians only. The restrictions “ran with the land,” meaning that no future owner of the property could undo this practice. These restrictions were already in place on much of the land when developers purchased it, so homes in nearly all of the newly developed neighborhoods like Crestwood were sold exclusively to white families. In 1968, the Fair Housing Law was passed, eliminating racial barriers to homeownership. Crestwood's student body remained largely Caucasian until the 1980s, by which time the effects of the passage of the Fair Housing Law began to be evident in Fairfax County’s suburbs.

Renovations and Additions
When Crestwood Elementary School opened, our school did not have a gymnasium. Our school also lacked classrooms for music, art, and science. In the 1970s, the Crestwood P.T.A. lobbied the Fairfax County School Board to remedy these inequities. An upgrade to the lighting, heating, and ventilation systems was approved by the School Board in 1976, and additional classrooms and a gymnasium were constructed in 1978.

Student enrollment gradually declined at Crestwood from 436 in 1975 to 349 in 1985. Beginning in 1984, children from the newly built Saratoga neighborhood south of Springfield on Rolling Road were bused to Crestwood, Forestdale, and Lynbrook elementary schools where classroom space was readily available. Children from Saratoga attended Crestwood until the opening of Saratoga Elementary School in September 1989.

In 1988, air conditioning was added building-wide at Crestwood. Prior to this time, teachers propped open their classroom windows on warm days to allow the air to circulate. The first building-wide renewal of Crestwood began construction in the spring of 1999, and was contracted to the Falls Church Construction Corporation at a cost of $4.8 million. A modular classroom addition was constructed in 2004, and the most recent addition to our school was built in 2012 by the Pavone Construction Company at a cost of $2.6 million. Watch our building change shape in this animated series of aerial photographs courtesy of the Fairfax County Park Authority.

A True Community School
Following the passage of the Fair Housing Law in 1968, Springfield area homeownership restrictions ceased. As the 1970s drew to a close, the majority of the children born during the “baby boom” of the 1950s and 60s had graduated high school. As their parents’ generation began to retire and move away, Springfield and its affordable housing became a magnet for new immigrant families to the United States from Southeast Asia and Central America. The ethnically and culturally diverse Crestwood school community we treasure today was a product of these changes, which occurred gradually between 1980 and 2000.

On the occasion of our school’s 50th anniversary in 2006, the Crestwood community was abuzz with excitement. A new school song was written by teachers Debra Lindsay and Jeff Copp, and students and staff alike were eager to learn about our school’s past. Festivities were held on September 12, 2006, and 42 fifth and sixth graders performed at two assemblies, one during the school day and one during the evening for parents. Reflecting on Crestwood’s long history, cafeteria hostess Eleanor Williams wrote, “Over the past 50 years, the Crestwood community has become a very progressive community in the heart of the Springfield area and educates hundreds of students each year. The mission of Crestwood Elementary School is to offer each student the skills, knowledge, and experiences necessary to be successful students and productive members of society. The staff envisions a school where academic excellence is paramount, the arts are celebrated, cultural and linguistic diversity is honored, and all learners meet their personal academic goals. Over the years ethnic and cultural diversity have brought a unique spirit to the school, as it continues its commitment to academic excellence. Crestwood is a true community school working with parents and children building a better future for the entire Crestwood community.”

School History - Our People

The true history of Crestwood Elementary School is found in our students and school staff. Though time has changed the appearance of our classrooms, our technology, and teaching methods, our commitment to providing a quality education for children remains the same. As you walk the halls of Crestwood, you’ll learn that the cafeteria, gymnasium, and library were named in honor of people. The following is a glimpse into the stories of some of the principals, teachers, and volunteers who've shaped the Crestwood school community.

Evelyn I. Lynn
Evelyn Lynn was the first principal of Crestwood Elementary School, a position she held from 1956 to 1972. Mrs. Lynn came to Crestwood from Garfield Elementary School, where she had served as a “well-known and well-liked” fifth grade teacher for two years.

Principal Lynn retired in May 1972 after 40 years of dedicated service in the education profession, the last 16 of which were spent at Crestwood. Just prior to her retirement, the Crestwood P.T.A. approached the Fairfax County School Board, and requested permission to honor Mrs. Lynn’s outstanding service to Crestwood’s students and community. The School Board adopted a resolution dedicating Crestwood Elementary School to Evelyn Lynn, “for bringing honor to herself and to the school.”

The Boyd W. Collins Gymnasium
In 1972, Boyd Winston Collins became the second principal of Crestwood Elementary School, a position he held until his retirement in 1979. During his principalship, Collins and the Crestwood P.T.A. lobbied the Fairfax County School Board to build a gymnasium for our school. Prior to the construction of the gymnasium, physical education was taught by teachers in their classrooms, or outdoors through structured play. Construction of the gymnasium began in 1978, and the facility was completed prior to Principal Collins’ retirement the following year. On May 24, 1979, the School Board formally named our gymnasium in his honor.

Boyd Collins began his career with Fairfax County Public Schools in 1952 as a teacher. He served as the principal of Franconia Elementary School from 1953-57, was the principal of North Springfield Elementary School from 1957-69, and then worked for three years as an elementary school supervisor. Mr. Collins retired on May 31, 1979, after 27 years of service to the children of Fairfax County.

The Pat Plummer Hall
Patricia Plummer taught first grade at Crestwood Elementary School for 27 years, beginning in 1962. The kindergarten and first grade classroom wing at Crestwood was named in her honor by the Fairfax County School Board on May 25, 1989.

The School Board resolution stated: "Patricia Plummer has gained a reputation among parents, students, and staff for her love of the teaching profession, and has continuously shown her concern and caring for children and parents. She has also served the community through her involvement with youth in her church and work with the Jaycees' wives. Plummer has continued in the capacity of full-time substitute at Crestwood, after her retirement on February 28, 1989, because of her dedication to the school and to her students. The students, community, faculty and staff initiated a request that her lasting contributions and effective guidance be acknowledged in a permanent tribute at Crestwood Elementary School."

The Eleanor Williams Cafeteria
For more than 50 years, Eleanor Williams was the heart of Crestwood Elementary School. Mrs. Williams came to Crestwood when our school opened in 1956, when her children enrolled in our school. Over the next two decades, she frequently volunteered in the cafeteria, making sure each child sat at the correct table every day. Around 1980 she was hired as our school's cafeteria hostess, a position she held until her retirement in 2011. On October 19, 2006, the Fairfax County School Board officially dedicated Crestwood's cafeteria in her honor.

Eleanor Williams learned of the dedication at our school's 50th anniversary celebration. P.T.A. President Vickie Kline told those in attendance, "She has enriched the Crestwood community with her unwavering dedication to the community for the past 50 years. She is the essence of the school, the essence of the cafeteria, by providing so many fond memories that former students carry and current students will take with them.” A reporter from the Connection Newspaper interviewed Williams that evening, and quoted her as saying, "It’s been such a joy working here. I’ve enjoyed every minute of it. I think the school is better now than when we first started. I think it's just wonderful."

The Kathryn S. Nutter Library
On April 23, 2009, the Fairfax County School Board formally named our library in honor of Kathryn Nutter. Mrs. Nutter was Crestwood’s librarian for 28 years. During that time, she profoundly influenced countless students by encouraging self-confidence and instilling a lifelong love of reading.

The School Board resolution stated: “Mrs. Nutter has contributed innumerable hours to Crestwood’s students, parents, staff members, and the surrounding community, and is known for her thoughtfulness, kindness, and can-do attitude. She worked tirelessly to celebrate the achievements of Crestwood students by photographing and videotaping school productions and assemblies, creating the school yearbook, and serving as curator of the school web site. Mrs. Nutter was widely known throughout Crestwood Elementary School as a walking reference book and the school’s resident grammarian, renowned for her uncanny ability to identify just the right book in a very short period of time. She tirelessly devoted herself over the years to leadership of other student activities and events at Crestwood including sponsoring Crestwood patrols, the S.C.A., the morning news show, the Reading Is Fundamental program, and the annual book fair.” Mrs. Nutter retired at the end of the 2008-09 school year.

Outstanding New Teacher
In 2011, former Crestwood Elementary School fifth grade teacher Heather Monfasani was the recipient of the FCPS Outstanding First Year Teacher Award. Ms. Monfasani taught at Crestwood from 2010-14.

In her nomination letters, Ms. Monfasani was praised by her colleagues for her dedication and planning skills, her ability to build relationships, and for the variety of ways she used to get to know her students. She was described as “a breath of fresh air” because of her commitment to students, and her intrinsic drive to boost academic confidence. Ms. Monfasani implemented the Girls on the Run program at Crestwood in 2011, and was the coordinator of the Saturday Scholars Intervention Program from 2013-14.

Teacher of the Year
In March 2013, current Crestwood Elementary School teacher Melissa Porfirio was named the Fairfax County Public Schools Teacher of the Year. Ms. Porfirio went on to compete at the state and national levels. She took the top prize in Virginia, becoming the 2014 Virginia Teacher of the Year, and was one of four finalists in the national competition.

Melissa Porfirio began teaching at Crestwood in 2005. Prior to becoming a teacher, she was a social worker in Washington, D.C. and North Carolina, and taught English in Seoul, South Korea. In 2013, Ms. Porfirio was profiled on Insight, the FCPS Red Apple 21 cable television news magazine program.

Our Principals
1955 – Feb. 1956: Teachers Assigned under Garfield's Principal Woodrow Thomas Robinson
Feb. 1956 – 1972: Evelyn I. Lynn
1972 – 1979: Boyd Winston Collins
1979 – 1987: Robert F. Sisson, Jr.
1987 – 1989: Myrna Ann (Smith) Mayo
1989 – 1993: Kathleen B. Parzych
1993 – 1997: Charles P. Gray
1997 – 1998: Martin Dubin
1998 – 2004: Patricia Zissios
2004: Judith F. Lewis (July 2004 – Nov. 2004)
2004 – 2005: Elizabeth Dela Rosa-Pandza (Begins in Nov. 2004)
2005 – 2007: Judith Thompson
2007 – 2010: Mary A. Person
2010 – 2018: Tim Kasik
2018 – Present: Marguerite Saitta

School History - The Crestwood Area

The following history of the Crestwood area was written by Eleanor Williams for Crestwood Elementary School’s 50th Anniversary.

In 1950, the Springfield area consisted of nothing but woods and a few farms and houses. Edward Carr bought a lot of the land and in 1950 started to build the first planned community in Northern Virginia. He gave some land to the community for the school and the first community pool was built here because of the land he donated.

In October 1952 the first families started to move into Springfield. There were no phones, no street lights, no mail delivery and no street signs. There were also no stores. All shopping was done in Annandale. We had to cross the railroad tracks to get to Annandale and back to Springfield. Sometimes there would be a 10-15-minute wait for the trains to go by. There were a lot of trains in those days!

We had to go to the train station to pick up the mail. The station was near to where the train station on Hechinger Drive is today. The mail was picked up at the train station for two years. Finally, the post office opened. There were post office boxes. Three years later, mail was delivered to the homes.

We had a telephone booth on each street for our phone service. Six months later, there was a four-party line put in. (Four families shared the phone line.) About a year later, it was a two-party line. After about two more years, everyone had their own phone line.

The milkman delivered milk to the door and a bakery truck came to every street on Wednesday. Everyone bought goodies from it.

Little League was started in 1955. There were no schools here until 1956. All of the school children had to go out of the area.

It was very dark at night in Springfield as we did not have any street lights, so trying to find someone's house after sunset could be pretty hard. The county was not providing any street lights or street signs so the community decided to do something about it. Each household contributed $20. Of that amount, $10 went for lights and $10 went for road signs. Soon it was much easier to find your way around Springfield.

Little by little, stores started to come into the area. Bonn Food was the first store to move in. Soon, A & P, then Safeway and, finally, Giant. Banks, service stations, restaurants, Fischer's Hardware and many more businesses followed. The place was really growing! For the Fourth of July, the merchants of Springfield would put on a fireworks display and a circus would come to town.

More and more families were moving in all the time. Now, more than 50 years later, Springfield has gone from being a quiet, country area to a thriving suburb. Who knows what the next 50 years holds in store?

ABOUT ME

Award-winning local historian and tour guide in Franconia and the greater Alexandria area of Virginia.

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ADDRESS

Nathaniel Lee

c/o Franconia Museum

6121 Franconia Road

Alexandria, VA 22310

franconiahistory@gmail.com

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