Fort Belvoir Primary School

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

Opening Date: September 1998

Fort Belvoir Primary School, a Fairfax County public school, opened its doors in September 1998 as Fort Belvoir Elementary School, serving military-connected students in grades pre-K-6. The school replaced the three existing elementary schools (Cheney, Markham, and Barden) that closed in June 1998 and is one of the largest elementary schools within Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) and the Washington Metropolitan area.

In the summer of 2014, Fairfax County Public Schools was awarded $23,798,603 in grant federal funds by the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) which was combined with $5,949,651 in non-federal matching funds to expand Fort Belvoir Elementary School by building another school building on an adjoining piece of land at the U.S. Army installation at Fort Belvoir, and to renovate the existing elementary school on the base. Funding for the grant was provided under the DOD's Public Schools on Military Installations program.

The new school, Fort Belvoir Upper School, opened on September 6, 2016. This school houses students in grades 4-6, while children in grades pre-K-3 attend Fort Belvoir Primary School. Our schools now have a total available capacity for approximately 1,594 students, which will allow FCPS to address both current and future capacity needs and allow for enrollment growth.

Fort Belvoir Elementary facilities are fully networked and equipped with the latest technologies. iPADS, document cameras, SMARTBoards, multiple wireless mobile and stationary computer labs, and computers found within each classroom immerse students in tools for the digital age. Staff members participate in ongoing training to naturally embed instructional technology tools into day-to-day instruction.

We applied for and were awarded a 1.5 million dollar STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) grant from the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) in 2010 and a 1.6 million dollar STEAM grant in 2013. Operation Patriotic STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) provides extended learning for students after-school and during the summer. The school has a STEAM Lab, Science Center and a STEAM resource teacher providing inquiry-based hands-on lessons to all students. New this year, through Fairfax County Public Schools staffing, our school also has a Technology Integration Resource Teacher who instructs students in grades K-6. Fort Belvoir has outdoor classrooms that include native plant gardens and vegetable gardens that enable students to collect authentic data. The STEAM programming is enhanced through our STEAM Innovative Pyramid of Schools, relationships with business partners and professionals that continue to support teachers in making connections to STEAM careers.

Fort Belvoir Elementary special education programming and Advanced Academic programs serve students in Pre-K through Grade 6 and provide varied supports for students qualifying for services. Fort Belvoir Elementary School (FBES) received funding from the Department of Education Activity (DoDEA) for a new program, Mindful Attention to Instruction (MATI). This program has three main components:

Math intervention programming for students who need assistance beyond Core Instruction

A new curriculum called "Mindful Schools". This program will provide students with the essential life skills of being mindful of ones feelings and emotions in a non-judgmental way in order to regulate them, allowing them to achieve to their fullest potential.

Finally, the MATI program will increase parent understanding of the school's special education programs and policies by offering a family outreach training program to encourage constructive parent involvement, thereby having a beneficial effect on student achievement.

Band, Strings, and Choral programs are offered to develop and support our budding musicians. Student leadership is nurtured through such programs as Safety Patrols, Student Council Association, Peer Mediators and WFBES News Show.

Our PTO continues to support strong home/school partnerships and offers extra-curricular activities in a variety of ways to include, but not limited to a Scholastic Book Fair, a Parent Volunteer Program, a School Store, and Spirit Wear. Dedicated volunteers support all aspects of school-based operations.

What was Fort Belvoir named for?

Fort Belvoir Elementary School opened in September 1998. Located on the United States Army's Fort Belvoir installation. The school educates military dependents. The name Belvoir is derived from a historic estate established by William Fairfax around 1740. This William Fairfax was a cousin of Thomas, the sixth Lord Fairfax, Baron of Cameron for whom Fairfax County is named. The Belvoir estate was located on a peninsula surrounded by Pohick Bay, Gunston Cove, and Dogue Creek.

Built on a bluff overlooking the Potomac River, the estates manor house was given the name Belvoir from the French for "beautiful to see." In 1783, the manor house was destroyed in a fire and never rebuilt. George Washington wrote, "... it is a matter of sore regret when I cast my eye toward Belvoir, which I often do. To reflect that the former inhabitants of it. With whom we lived in such harmonious friendship, no longer reside there and that the ruins can only be viewed as the mementos. Mementos of former pleasures..."

From the manor ruins a path leads to an obelisk set in a small clearing. This monument erected in 1924 marks the site of the Fairfax family cemetery. Belvoir remained in the Fairfax family into the 19th century and then was sold. The land passed through several hands until the early 20th century when it was acquired by the federal government. In 1912, Congress transferred to Belvoir property to the United States War Department for use as a training site for the Army Corps of Engineers.

After the United States entered World War I in 1917, the Army acquired additional and in the area. Greatly expanding the area of the camp. The installation was given the name Camp A. A. Humphreys in honor of Civil War commander and former chief of engineers, Major General Andrew Atkinson Humphreys. As Camp Humphreys grew, more soldiers meant more families and more children. The earliest school at the camp was funded by the families whose children were enrolled there. In 1924, a longstanding partnership between the school system and the Army began.

When the Fairfax County School Board agreed that if the Army would provide the facility and equipment for a school, the board would provide a teacher. The first permanent brick elementary school building on post was built in 1934. Originally named for the Fort, the building was renamed Hill Hall. In honor of Colonel Bruce C. Hill in the 1960's. In 1935, President Roosevelt officially changed the installation's name from Humphrey's to Fort Belvoir in 1940.

In order to accommodate the influx of soldiers drafted prior to World War II, the federal government acquired additional land for the Fort on the opposite site of Route 1. This land included the historic African-American settlement of Woodlawn. Woodlawn was home to a vibrant community of single family homes, a Methodist church, a school, and an Odd Fellows hall. After acquiring Woodlawn and the surrounding area, the Army built Young's Village, a housing community for African-American soldiers and their families on the site. An elementary school was organized here for the children of these families in September 1940.

One year later, the Fairfax County School Board officially deeded the Woodlawn Colored School property to the federal government. In July 1948, President Truman signed an executive order desegregating the United States military. But it wasn't until the early 1950's that the order was fully implemented. Families from Young's Village were relocated elsewhere on post and the school and homes were demolished in the late 1950's. In 1957, Fort Belvoir Elementary School Number 2 opened. In 1960, the school was officially renamed in honor of Colonel William Jones Barden, a member of the Army Corps of Engineers. That same year, two additional elementary schools opened on post. Cheney Elementary School, built on the former site of Young's Village, was named in honor of Brigadier General Sherwood A. Cheney, a former chief of engineers. Markham Elementary School was named in honor of Major General Edward M. Markham, who was also a former chief of engineers. On June 17, 1998, Barden, Markham, and Cheney elementary schools were closed.

The newly constructed Fort Belvoir Elementary School opened the following September. Three of the older schools still stand today. Cheney, which was located adjacent to Fort Belvoir elementary was torn down to create athletic fields. In 2014, plans for the construction of a new elementary school at Fort Belvoir were approved. The deep roots of the educational partnership between Fairfax County Public Schools and Fort Belvoir continue to ensure that military connected students will have the best education possible.