Mount Vernon High School (Virginia)

Mount Vernon High School is a public high school in the Fairfax County Public Schools system located in Mount Vernon, Virginia.

Mount Vernon High School
Address
8515 Old Mount Vernon Road Alexandria , Virginia 22309 United States
Coordinates	38°43′36″N 77°05′32″W
Information
School type	Public, high school
Motto	Esse Non Videri (To be, not to seem to be)
Founded	1939, 1974 (relocated)[1]
School district	Fairfax County Public Schools
Principal	Karen Boyd
Staff	245
Grades	9 – 12
Enrollment	2,050[2] (2016-17)
Campus	Suburban
Color(s)	Maroon and grey
Nickname	Majors
Newspaper	EmVeeHi
Feeder schools	Walt Whitman Middle School
Rival schools	Edison High School West Potomac High School
Athletic conferences	National District Northern Region
Website	fcps.edu/MtVernonHS

Mount Vernon High School building

History

The former Mount Vernon High School building, seen in 2018.

Originally constructed to take the place of the Lee-Jackson High School, Mount Vernon High school first opened in November 1939.^[3][4] With the opening of the school, Lee-Jackson principal G. Claude Cox moved to Mount Vernon, becoming the school's first principal, and Lee-Jackson became an elementary school.^[5]

In 1945, Principal Cox resigned to become principal of Wythe High School in Wytheville, Virginia, and Lee-Jackson principal Melvin B. Landes moved to Mount Vernon to begin a nearly thirty-year tenure there.^[5][6]

The school's current location was built in 1961 as Walt Whitman Intermediate School. In 1973, Mount Vernon and Whitman swapped facilities, and the former intermediate school was enlarged to serve its new role as a high school. The original Mount Vernon High School continued to operate as the Walt Whitman Intermediate School until 1985, when Whitman was moved to the former Stephen Foster Intermediate School.^[7]

Also in 1973, Principal Melvin Landes retired, and Thomas G. Hyer took over as Principal.^[6]

Following the departure of Eric Brent to become principal at Forest Park High School in Woodbridge, Nardos King became the principal of MVHS in 2006.^[8]

After nine years as principal, Nardos King resigned in 2015 to take a position as Assistant Superintendent of High Schools with the Baltimore County Public Schools system. Assistant Principal Esther Manns became the interim principal of MVHS in September 2015.^[9] In February 2016, Rocky Run Middle School Principal Dr. Anthony S. Terrell was announced as the principal of Mount Vernon High School, beginning in March.

The original Mount Vernon High School is still standing on Richmond Highway; it became the Islamic Saudi Academy, which moved to the facility in 1989.^[10] This school closed in 2016.

Academic achievement

Students with individual needs are accommodated through special education programs, including English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) program, and advanced placement and International Baccalaureate programs. Mount Vernon is an accredited high school.^[11] The average SAT score in 2013 for Mount Vernon was a 1417 (479 in Critical Reading, 474 in Math, and 464 in Writing).^[12]

Demographics

For the 2014-15 school year, Mount Vernon High School's student body was 37.80% Hispanic, 29.56% Black, 20.91% White, 6.36% Asian and 5.37% Other.^[13]

Athletics

School athletic programs feature fall, winter and spring sports, including cheerleading, cross country, field hockey, football, golf, volleyball, basketball, gymnastics, swimming, wrestling, baseball, crew, lacrosse, softball, soccer, tennis, track and intramural sports.

In Mount Vernon's history, it has garnered five AAA State Championship titles. They won their first title in 1979, in basketball, their second in 1983, for football, their third in 2008 for the swim & dive team, and a fourth in 2013, for soccer, as well as one^[when?] for wrestling.

Theater

Mount Vernon's "Little Theater," officially named "The Andrew Lee Pauley Theater," was dedicated to an English and Drama teacher who retired from the school in 1986. The Little Theater can hold a capacity of more than 400 students.

It is home to MVHS Theatre Arts program, under the direction of theater teacher Jessica Shaw.

Notable alumni

• Callie Brownson, American football coach^[14]
• Mickey Bowers, former professional baseball player, scout, coach and manager
• Ed Cunningham, former professional football player and currently TV sports journalist, analyst, and broadcaster.^[15]
• Christina Chambers, actress^{[citation needed]}
• Gary Etherington, professional soccer player^[16]
• Atlee Hammaker, former Major League Baseball pitcher^[17]
• David Knight, former professional American football player
• Tim Koogle, first CEO and President of Yahoo^[18]
• Tony Perkins, Chief Weatherman, WTTG-TV.^[19]
• Lea Gabrielle, diplomat ^[20][21]
• Joe R. Reeder, United States Under Secretary of the Army from 1993 to 1997
• Chuck Robb, former U.S. Senator and Governor of Virginia.^[22]
• Markus Rogan, professional swimmer who earned a silver medal in backstroke at the 2004 Olympics^[23]
• Bernard Shlesinger, auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Atlanta
• Kyle Soller, actor
• William B. Taylor Jr., U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine 2006-2009 ^[24]
• Syd Thrift, former MLB scout and executive, was baseball coach at Mt. Vernon 1953–1956^[25]
• Lucian K. Truscott IV, writer and journalist^{[citation needed]}
• Lieutenant General Darryl A. Williams, current Superintendent of the United States Military Academy^[26]

References

1. Bohn, Michael (2005-10-17). "Keeping the Past Alive: A Brief History of the Mount Vernon District". Mount Vernon Gazette. Archived from the original on 2007-06-10. Retrieved 2007-06-30.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
2. "Mount Vernon High". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
3. "Fairfax Delays Opening of White Schools: Incompletion of Buildings Is Given As Reason for Lag". The Washington Post. 31 August 1939. ProQuest 151154652.
4. "Fairfax Board Accepts School Material Bids". The Washington Post. 8 November 1939. ProQuest 151120045.
5. "G.C. Cox Resigns As Mount Vernon School Principal". The Washington Post. 23 August 1945. ProQuest 151818990.
6. "Melvin Bowman Landes, Alexandria Principal". The Washington Post. 24 August 2004. Retrieved 10 September 2015.This reference incorrectly states that Landes was principal of Lee-Jackson Elementary School in Mathews, Virginia. Landes was principal of Lee-Jackson Elementary in Alexandria.
7. Mansfield, Virginia (4 August 1988). "Saudi Academy To Fund Fairfax School Face Lift". The Washington Post. ProQuest 139468084.
8. "High School's New Head Has A Familiar Face". The Connection. 9 August 2006. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
9. "Mount Vernon Brief: Esther Manns Named Interim Principal at MVHS". The Connection. 9 September 2015. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
10. Downey, Kirstin (22 May 2008). "Board Extends Saudi School's Lease". The Washington Post. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
11. "VA - DoE Mount Vernon High School Report Card". Virginia Department of Education. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
12. "FCPS - High School SAT Scores" (PDF). Fairfax County Public Schools. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
13. "FCPS – School Profiles – Mount Vernon HS – Student Membership Demographics and Supplemental Programs (as of June for each school year)". Fairfax County Public Schools. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
14. Lundmark, Aaron (July 6, 2016). "Mount Vernon Local Thrives in Women's Professional Football". Mount Vernon Gazette. Archived from the original on September 27, 2018. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
15. "Bowl Championship Series – Cunningham, Ed". ESPN. Archived from the original on July 9, 2012. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
16. "Player Inductees Bios: Gary Etherington". Wirginia-DC Soccer Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
17. Boswell, Thomas (October 11, 1987). "Hammaker Not Indestructible, Just Unsinkable". Washington Post. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
18. "Mount Vernon High School – Surveyor Yearbook (Alexandria, VA) – Class of 1970". e-Yearbook.com. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
19. Photo Gallery: Tony Perkins! Archived 2008-08-20 at the Wayback Machine
20. Tousignant, Marylou (25 January 1993). "Young Bright Bulbs Make Area Shine in Science Contest". The Washington Post. pp. D01. Archived from the original on 15 August 2017. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
21. "Washington-Area Students Take Lead in Annual Science Awards". The New York Times. 27 January 1993. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
22. "ndol.org". ndol.org. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
23. Shipley, Amy (September 17, 2009). "Swimming for Redemption". Washington Post. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
24. Covering the Corridor, "Key figure in impeachment inquiry is Mount Vernon graduate," Oct 23, 2019
25. Hardin, Tom (July 17, 2008). "A community mirror: The first 100 years". Southside Sentinel. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
26. "Mount Vernon alum takes over as new superintendent of West Point". 16 July 2018.