Oak View Elementary School

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

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:

Oak View Elementary School opened in September 1968. The school was built on land once owned by a former member of the Fairfax County School Board, Dr. Frederick Manning Brooks. In 1896, Dr. Brooks had purchased 125 acres south of the town of Fairfax, which included the future site of the school. A practicing physician from 1883 until his death in 1941, Dr. Brooks served the county’s public schools as a school board member from 1910 to 1932. Since he never married and had no children, Dr. Brooks left his home and part of his farm to his housekeeper, Mary Kidwell. In May 1953, Mary sold a large portion of the farm to William J. Tate, a real estate developer, who, in December 1954, dedicated the Country Club View neighborhood on the property. In 1966, Crestwood Construction Corporation, which had purchased an undeveloped section of Country Club View, sold the Oak View school site to the Fairfax County School Board. In May 1968, the name Oak View, which was preferred by community members, formally became the name of the school. The school was aptly named because at least six different species of oak trees are found on the school grounds, namely the black oak, pin oak, red oak, scarlet oak, white oak, and willow oak, with white oaks being the most predominant. Oak trees come in many sizes and shapes, but they all have one thing in common – acorns! The acorn nut is an important food source for birds, deer, squirrels and other wildlife. Different species of oak trees can be distinguished by the size, shape, and color of their acorns, bark, and leaves.
American Indians are known to have used the bark from pin oaks, red oaks, and white oaks for medicinal purposes. Black oaks, red oaks, and white oaks are highly sought after by the timber industry and are used to make furniture, flooring, barrels, railroad ties, and were historically used in shipbuilding. White oak trees are easily recognizable because their leaves have rounded lobes and their bark has a light gray color.
Depending upon the species of tree, the average lifespan of an oak can be anywhere from 100 to 300 years.
After it was felled by a storm in 2002, the Wye Oak, a white oak in Maryland, was found to be more than 460 years old. If the trees on the school grounds are properly cared for, the children who attend Oak View Elementary School can be assured of having a beautiful “oak view” for many, many more years to come.

Oak View Elementary school opened its doors in September 1968, but not on the same day as all other FCPS schools that year! Find out why they didn't open on time and what those first students did that day in the video below.

We know Oak View opened in 1968, but what you might not know is that due to construction delays it didn't open on time. According to this Evening Star newspaper article from August 29, 1968, the 562 students and 34 staff members would have to wait a week to enter their brand new school. So while workers put the finishing touches on Oak View, students and staff traveled to Holmes Intermediate School nine miles away for the first four days of school that year, then on Monday, September 9, 1968, learning at Oak View Elementary School officially began.

Oak View underwent a renovation in 1998. Find out about some of the updates to our school in the video below!

In 1998, 30 years after it was built, Oak View underwent a major two-year renovation project. One noticeable change was to the front of the school. The canopy at the main entrance was erected and the cafeteria was expanded outward to accommodate more students at one time. Another easily noticeable change was the addition of an entire new wing on the right side of the building. The kiss and ride area was built at this time, before that people walked to school or rode the bus. Though eight new classrooms were added for what is now the first and third grades, six classroom spaces were replaced by the library and elevator during renovation. The movable walls that some classrooms had which opened to the Pod areas were replaced by cinder block walls. The main office space was revamped and modernized. Our doors went from red or navy blue to a dark green to match our school colors and those hand-painted wall tiles spread throughout the school is another one of the many changes that occurred 20 years ago during renovation.