Poe Middle School

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

Edgar Allan Poe Middle School opened on September 1, 1960, and was one of the very first intermediate schools opened by Fairfax County Public Schools. In 1958, the Fairfax County School Board voted to reorganize the public school system and establish the county’s first intermediate schools. Traditionally, students in grades 1-7 attended elementary schools, and students in grades 8-12 attended high schools. Intermediate schools were created to ease the transition from elementary school to high school, and provide students with a specialized program of study geared to the specific needs of their age group. A pilot program began in the fall of 1958 and proved so successful that Fairfax County Public Schools administrators embarked on an ambitious plan to open eight more intermediate schools during the 1960-61 school year. Early in the intermediate school planning process, it was decided that each school would be named for a famous author or poet. Our school was officially named Edgar Allan Poe Intermediate School by the School Board in May 1959, and Lawrence W. Sawyer was hired as our first principal.

Renovations
Today, Poe Middle School educates children from grades 6-8, but that was not the case when our school opened in 1960. Originally, Poe Intermediate School educated only 7th and 8th grade students. Enrollment peaked in the mid-1970s at nearly 1,500 students and then steadily declined throughout the 1980s. By 1990, enrollment has fallen to the point where the Fairfax County School Board was considering whether or not to close our school entirely. The decision was made to add 6th graders to our school beginning with the 1991-92 school year. This change was enough to boost our enrollment and keep Poe open. Also in 1991, our school was renamed Poe Middle School. Poe Middle School underwent an extensive renovation from 1995 to 1998. Before the renovation, the original floorplan was two main hallways on the ground floor (then called “front” and “back”) with a middle hallway (called the “connector”) which is now the 7th grade hall. The renovation added the "pods" to each grade-level's hallways. The upstairs hallway existed prior to the renovation.

Our Namesake
Did you know that Edgar Allan Poe invented the modern detective story?

Poe Middle School near Annandale opened in 1960. The school is named for Edgar Allan Poe, an American author and poet who is best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre. Edgar Poe was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1809 to David and Elizabeth Arnold Hopkins Poe. Poe's father abandoned his family in 1810, and his mother died a year later. Poe was then taken in by a foster family, the Allan's in Richmond, Virginia who gave him the name Edgar Allan Poe. Poe's life was a tragic one, marked by familial upheaval, broken relationships, career instability, and substance abuse. One marked exception to this was his marriage to Virginia Eliza Clem. By all accounts, Poe's marriage was a happy one and Poe and his wife were deeply devoted to one another. Edgar Allen Poe is widely recognized as the inventor of the modern detective story and an innovator in the science fiction genre. Some of his most famous stories are "The Cask of Amontillado," "The Fall of the House of Usher," "The Pit and the Pendulum," and "The Tell-Tale Heart." Poe Middle School's mascot, the raven, is named in reference to Poe's most famous poem. Edgar Allen Poe died in 1849 in Baltimore, Maryland and was buried there at Westminster Hall Burying Ground.

Local History
Did you know that Poe Middle School is located at one of the highest points of elevation in Fairfax County? This area served as a Union Army campsite during the American Civil War. Poe was built on land that was formerly part of Ravensworth, a large plantation once owned by the Fitzhugh family. In 1796, William Fitzhugh built a mansion which he called Ravensworth in the North Springfield area. William Fitzhugh was a wealthy planter, a delegate to the Continental Congress from Virginia, and a friend of George Washington. The Ravensworth mansion and estate passed down through the Fitzhugh family who maintained ownership into the 20th century. The mansion was destroyed by fire in 1926 and the estate’s farmland was sold to developers in the 1950s.

Distinguished Alumni
Mark Hamill, who played Luke Skywalker in “Star Wars,” attended Poe as an 8th grader in 1964-65. Amanda Cromwell, an American professional soccer player and coach of the UCLA women’s soccer team, attended Poe Middle School. Scott Norwood, an NFL kicker who for the Buffalo Bills in the Super Bowl, also attended Poe Middle School.

Todd McKinney
In the hallway, adjacent to the school nurse's office, hangs a portrait in memoriam of a former Poe student, Todd McKinney. Todd died tragically in October 1970. An eighth grader at the time, Todd was delivering newspapers in Annandale in the predawn darkness when he was mistaken for a car thief and was shot and killed. His death made national headlines.