Planning for a new middle school began in 1994 when the Fairfax County School Board when discussions began for land acquisition in western Fairfax County for a middle school site. The school was originally designed to house 1,250 students.[3]
On May 14, 1998, the Fairfax County School Board voted to name the school after Rachel Carson, an environmentalist and author. Carl Sagan was also one of the finalists as a name for the school.[4]
Carson Middle School was first opened on September 8, 1998 with Gail Womble as the first principal. The school's mascot is the panther, which was chosen by the student body.[3]
Administration
The current principal of Rachel Carson Middle School is Donald (Tony) Washington. Before being appointed in 2024, Washington was the principal at Forestville Elementary School from 2019-2024.
Academics
Rachel Carson Middle School is an Advanced Academic Placement (AAP) Center. The school has a wide range of electives to choose from and a large fine and performing arts program. Carson Middle School offers Spanish, French, Chinese, and Japanese foreign language classes.[5][6]
Demographics
As of the 2020–21 school year, Carson Middle School has a total of 1,473 students. The school is:[7]
49.29% Asian
26% White
9.1% Hispanic or Latino
8.55% Black
7.06% Other
Feeder pattern
Carson Middle School is a magnet school, and feeds into four high schools: Chantilly, Oakton, Westfield, and South Lakes.[8]
Elementary schools that feed into RCMS include Oak Hill, Floris, Coates, Crossfield, Navy, McNair, Lees Corner, and Fox Mill.
In 1958, Fairfax County began creating intermediate schools to create a smooth transition between elementary and high school. In 1959, Intermediate School #2 was officially named after American writer James Fenimore Cooper.[10] Construction on Cooper Intermediate School began in December 1961, and opened its doors to students on September 4, 1962, as schools in Fairfax County were integrating. The school's inaugural principal was William D. McKinney. In 1990, Cooper Intermediate became Cooper Middle School. The school was renovated in 1968 and is set to be renovated again in 2022. The school's mascot is the Cougar.[11]
Administration
The current principal of Cooper Middle School is Lisa Barrow. Before being appointed principal in 2020, Barrow was the Director of Professional Growth and Career Development in the Office of Professional Learning and Family Engagement for Fairfax County Public Schools. She also was the principal of Sleepy Hollow Elementary School, and the assistant principal at both Marshall Road Elementary School and Frost Middle School.[12]
Academics
James Fenimore Cooper Middle School is an Advanced Academic Placement (AAP) Center. Cooper Middle School offers Chinese, Spanish, French, and Japanese foreign language classes.[13][14]
Demographics
As of the 2023-24 school year, Cooper Middle School has a total of 1076 students. The school is:[15]
52.35% White
30.77% Asian
7.59% Other
6.73% Hispanic or Latino
2.56% Black
Feeder pattern
This is the current feeding pattern of Cooper Middle School.[8]
Franklin Middle School opened in the fall of 1984 as an intermediate school with the theme “We touch the Future Through the Past and Present.” In the 1990s, Franklin Intermediate became Franklin Middle. The school was named for Benjamin Franklin, and their mascot is the falcons.[17]
Academics
Franklin Middle School has been a Governor's School of Educational Excellence since 2007. Franklin Middle School offers Spanish, French, Japanese, and Chinese foreign language classes[18][19]
Demographics
As of the 2020–21 school year, Franklin Middle School has a total of 899 students. The school is:[20]
Robert Frost test scores for the 2015–2016 school year
SOL test
Percent passing
Grade 7 English: Reading
93.7%
Grade 7 Math
90.5%
Grade 8 English: Reading
92.7%
Grade 8 Science
94.3%
Grade 8 English: Writing
89.3%
Grade 8 Math
92.6%
Frost Middle School[21] (Region 5,[1] grades 7–8[22]) is a public school named after the poet Robert Frost[23] and located southeast of Fairfax.
Most students feed into Frost from Fairfax Villa Elementary School, Oak View Elementary School, Olde Creek Elementary School, Little Run Elementary School, Canterbury Woods Elementary School, Wakefield Forest Elementary School, Mantua Elementary School, Annandale Terrace Elementary School, Braddock Elementary School, and North Springfield Elementary School. Not all students from these schools attend Frost.
Frost had 1154 students during the 2015–2016 school year. During the same school year, 12.13% of the student body received free/reduced-priced meals, and 5.03% were classified as having limited English.[citation needed]
Frost has a AAP center (FCPS Advanced Academic Program). There are eight teams at Frost: four in the seventh grade (Cavaliers, Voyagers, Endeavor, Travelers) and four in the eighth grade (Atoms, Explorers, Galaxy, Seekers). Travelers, Cavaliers, Galaxy, and Seekers are in the AAP, while Voyagers, Endeavor, Atoms, and Explorers are not.
Frost Middle School was recognized with the Governor's Award of Excellence from 2010 through 2017, and with the Virginia Board of Education Distinguished Achievement Award in 2013. In 2013 the school was recognized with the G.O.L.D.E.N. Wellness Award, as well as the Healthier U.S. School Challenge Bronze Award. The Virginia Music Educators' Association awarded Frost Middle School their Blue Ribbon from 2009 through 2017.[25] Frost has been frequently ranked among the best middle schools in Virginia.[citation needed]
Extracurricular activities occur every day, with late buses offered on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Students have the option to stay after school on Fridays, but they must have a ride home. Activities include:
In 2007, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia gave a lecture to the Seekers team at Frost. His grandson was a student there at the time. In 2011, Scalia gave another lecture to the Seekers team; his granddaughter was then a student there.
In 2019, Frost started construction on an expansion and renovation of the school. It is expected to be completed in Fall-Winter 2023.
Students at Glasgow participate in the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Program (IBMYP), and work towards earning an International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma in high school.[33] Glasgow also offers a Spanish Immersion program for students who have participated in an elementary school immersion program. Some students place into Glasgow for the immersion programs.
Many students opt to stay after school on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays to participate in extracurricular activities. They participate in various academic teams such as Girls Engineering in Math and Science (GEMS), Science Olympiad, and Math Counts.[34] NJHS (National Junior Honor Society), a service club, is also available, but only for the eighth grade. Various sports and games clubs are available. Students who demonstrate leadership skills and creativity can also run for the Student Government Association (SGA), which decides upcoming events for the school. Elections for representatives take place at the beginning of the year, while elections for officers, such as president, vice president, secretary, or treasurer, take place at the end of the year, for the following year.
On January 29, 2008, Glasgow students moved to a new building, built behind the old one. It was originally scheduled to be moved into during winter break, but it was changed until after the second grading quarter ended.
Hayfield Secondary School is a secondary school, meaning it serves grades 7 through 12,[35] but the high school and middle school students are generally kept segregated. The middle school has an honors (formally GT) program, and the high school offers both honors and Advanced Placement courses.
As of the spring of 2007, the number of exams on which a score of 3 or higher was achieved (on a scale of 1–5) rose to 57% from 46% the previous year, the best results found on record for Hayfield.[citation needed]
As of the 2018–2019 school year, the school uses an odd-even schedule in which students go to even periods one day and odd the next, making each class 90 minutes. Students can choose from a variety of electives to complement their core classes.
The school offers several levels of classes including Honors Geometry, Honors Algebra, French, Spanish, Tech Education ("Shop"), art, and music education.
In 1995 the Herndon Middle School Band, under the direction of Noreen Liennemann, won the prestigious Sudler Cup, presented by the John Philip Sousa Foundation to honor middle school concert bands that have demonstrated high standards of excellence over a period of years.
It was constructed in 1952, and renovations have been made due to the growing population of the community. It includes a historic Cold War-era fallout shelter.
Holmes' 2014–15 student body of 956 was 20.5% African American, 19% White, 20% Asian, 37% Hispanic, and 2.6% other.[39]
Holmes Middle School was founded in 1966. In 1991, additional construction was started. In 2004, a new front area of the building was constructed including a new media center, office, and guidance office. That same year, Holmes became a member of the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Program.
North Springfield Elementary School (Springfield address), Weyanoke Elementary School (Alexandria address), Columbia Elementary School, Parklawn Elementary School and Bren Mar Park Elementary (Alexandria address) feed into Holmes.
The school is built on the same floor plan as Rocky Run Middle School (before Rocky Run was renovated) and feeds into South Lakes High School for grades 9–12. It is an International Baccalaureate Middle Years Program school, which is intended to precede South Lakes's IB curriculum, and is also part of the "Model Campus" of South Lakes and Terraset Elementary school. The three schools share the track and fields.
Elementary schools that feed into Langston Hughes Middle School are Terraset, Sunrise Valley, Forest Edge, Lake Anne, Dogwood, Hunters Woods, and students transfer from nearby Crossfield, Armstrong, Aldrin, Clearview, Dranesville, Herndon, and Hutchison.
In 1998, a student-run prostitution ring was discovered at the middle school, leading to a police investigation. In March, a 13-year-old boy was convicted for organizing a sex-for-hire ring that involved a half dozen of his female classmates.[42]
A music video for a song named "Eastside" by Benny Blanco, Halsey, and Khalid released in 2018 with over 500 million views was partially filmed at the Langston Hughes campus, due to Benny Blanco's relations with the school.[43]
Washington Irving test scores for the 2005–2006 school year
SOL test
Percent passing
Grade 7 English: Reading
92%
Grade 7 Math
62%
Grade 8 English: Reading
90%
Grade 8 Science
96%
Grade 8 English: Writing
97%
Grade 8 Math
89%
Washington Irving Middle School[44] (Region 4,[1] grades 7–8[45]) is a public school located in Springfield. It feeds into West Springfield High School. Elementary schools that feed into Washington Irving Middle School include Cardinal Forest, Hunt Valley, Keene Mill, Orange Hunt, and Rolling Valley, Sangster, and West Springfield.
Irving is divided into eight teams: four seventh grade (yellow, green, orange, and blue) and four eighth grade (purple, black, white, and red). The team names switch every year. All the members on each team have the same teachers for their core classes: Science, English, Math, and History/Civics.
In 1965, when the county was integrated, the school was designated as Luther Jackson Intermediate School, which eventually changed to Luther Jackson Middle School. The school is named after Dr. Luther Porter Jackson an established historian and educator. The mascot is a tiger and the school colors are red and black/white.
The school has transitioned into a GT Center school to reduce overcrowding at Joyce Kilmer Middle School and Robert Frost Middle School. The school converted into an AAP center school.
The AAP center was an option for certain students zoned for either Jackson or Thoreau had a choice to go to Jackson Middle School or for the AAP center or Thoreau. In 2018, when redistricting occurred, kids zoned for Jackson Middle School as their base school were moved to Thoreau Middle School as their base school and had the option of still attending Jackson if they wanted the AAP center. As a result, Jackson used to have 3 high school feeders, Oakton High School, Madison High School, or Falls Church High School.
Luther Jackson Middle School has a strong and growing drama department led by Stacey Jones, and has a strong music department. The 2013 musical was Willy Wonka and the 2014 musical was Mulan.
[48]
Katherine Johnson Middle School
38°51′36″N77°19′38″W / 38.86000°N 77.32722°W / 38.86000; -77.32722
Katherine Johnson Middle School (Region 5,[1] grades 7-8[49]) is a City of Fairfax and Fairfax County Public Schools AAP (FCPS Advanced Academics Program) Center-based middle school serving grades 7-8 in Region 5. The school is owned by the City of Fairfax, but implements Fairfax County Public Schools' "educational services, staffing, transportation, and food services."[50]
NASA research mathematician Katherine Johnson[51] is the school's namesake. Until 2021, the school was named for American poet and Confederate soldier Sidney Lanier.[52][53] KJMS's principal is Tammara Silipigni.[54] Many students who KJMS move on to Fairfax High School. It is fed by Willow Springs, Daniels Run, Providence, Colin Powell, Greenbriar East students who do not live in the Greenbriar subdivision, Eagle View, and Mosaic Elementary Schools.
The school has eight teams in total; for 7th grade: Patriots, Captains, Spartans and Hokies; and for 8th Grade: Highlanders, Nighthawks, Panthers, and Cavaliers. Each team is named after a Virginia College mascot. KJMS's mascot is the eagle.
The school has four orchestras and four band programs.
Key's 2014–2015 student body of 887 was 40.92% Hispanic, 24.13% Asian, 17.93% White, 12.85% Black, and 4.17% other.[57]
A total of 41% of teachers have a bachelor's degree, 59% have a master's degree, and less than 1% have a doctorate degree. The school has a 96% attendance rate.[citation needed]
There are six teams at Key: three in the seventh grade (7A – The Adventurers, 7B – The Bulldogs, 7C – The Champs), and three in the eighth grade.
Kilmer has a GT program for students who have been determined to be "Gifted and Talented".
The school offers many electives for 7th and 8th graders, including Family And Consumer Sciences (Home EC), Drama, Tech Tools, Inventions and Innovations, Technological Systems, and Advanced Technology Tools.
Kilmer is also known for its outstanding band and orchestra program. Under the direction of conductor Sharon Bonneau, the Kilmer Symphonic band has been recognized as one of the best middle school bands in the state. The Kilmer Symphonic Orchestra, led by conductor Elizabeth Fogel and previously led by Marci Swift, has been recognized as one of the best middle school orchestras in the state.[60] The school also has a chorus and string orchestra. The strings program offers violin, viola, cello, and bass.
48% of the teachers have a bachelor's degrees, and 52% have master's degrees. There are 19.5 students per teacher. There is a 97% attendance rate.[citation needed]
Kilmer's student body of 1100-1200 as of 2021 is 60% White, 21% Asian, 10% Hispanic, 5% unspecified, 4% Black, and less than 1% Native American.[citation needed]
No contact rule controversy
In June 2007, Kilmer Middle School, a school in the FCPS system, attracted national controversy after a 13-year-old student was reprimanded for putting his arm around his girlfriend during a break. The school had a strict policy of "no physical contact", meaning that contact such as high fives or hugs between friends are not allowed. Despite opposition from some parents and students, and coverage on Fox News, CNN, Time and The Washington Post, the school system and the former principal of the school, Deborah Strayhorn, stood behind the rule and refused to rescind it.[61][62]
Lake Braddock Secondary School is a combined junior high and high school in Burke administered by Fairfax County Public Schools. It is one of three secondary schools in Fairfax County, the other two being Hayfield Secondary School and Robinson Secondary School. Opened in 1973, Lake Braddock has recently[when?] completed an extensive renovation project. Its mascot is the bruin bear, and the school colors are purple and gold.
Liberty Middle School[63] (Region 4,[1] grades 7–8[64]) is one of the feeder middle schools for Centreville High School. They are located on the same road, less than two miles apart.
The school requires four core classes (Math, Science, History, and English) and P.E. for each student. Students can choose 2–4 electives (2 full year electives or 1 full year and 2 half semester electives or 4 half semester electives). However, some electives are only for a semester or quarter instead of a full year, in which case a student may take more electives.
Of 1100+ students (2006–2007), 77% were White, 3% were Black, 13% were Asian, and 7% were Hispanic. [citation needed]
The school has eight teams; in 7th grade there are the Patriots, Pride, Navigators, and Explorers; and in 8th grade there are the Rockets, Wizards, Eagles, and Comets.[65]
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Middle School[66] (Region 2,[1] grades 7–8[67]), north of Falls Church, is a public school named after the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The school's mascot is the Lancer.
It is a two-story building with two gymnasiums, a cafeteria, and a lecture hall. It also has a small basement and a two-room "mini mod." The school has completed major renovations, including the addition of a new wing.
Carole Kihm became principal on May 19, 2008 and was named the 2014 Outstanding Middle School Principal of Virginia by the Virginia Association of Secondary School Principals.[68]
The student body in 2018–2019 had 1848 students and was 27% Asian, 51% White, 12% Hispanic or Latino, 3% Black, and 7% other, with a total student body of 1319 (659 7th graders and 660 8th graders).[69]
Elementary schools that feed into Longfellow include Chesterbrook, Haycock, Kent Gardens, Franklin Sherman, and Timberlane. Additionally, some students come from Lemon Road, Westgate, Spring Hill, Colvin Run, and Churchill Road Elementary schools. Most of Longfellow's students go on to enroll at McLean High School, but some attend Langley High School, Marshall High School, or (with admission) Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology. In order to attend Thomas Jefferson, students undergo an application process that begins in students' eighth grade year, as it is a magnet school. In past years Longfellow has been a large contributor to the Thomas Jefferson population.
Longfellow Middle offers classes for the average student, such as Science, Mathematics, and History, and also classes for those students who require higher-level education, such as Math Honors, both levels of Algebra, Geometry, Science Honors, and History Honors.
Longfellow Middle also provides classes for the mentally disabled, and has an entire after-school club devoted to entertaining these students, "Good Buddies".
Longfellow Middle also provides extra classes like Technology Education (referred to as "Shop" by students), where students learn the basics of using power tools to construct different types of objects; Home Education, where students learn basic home skills like cooking, sewing, and ironing laundry; and Journalism, where students are taught how to create newspaper articles and then publish them in the school's quarterly newspaper, the Longfellow Lead.
Longfellow Middle teaches five award-winning bands, Beginner Band, Cadet Band, Concert Band, Wind Ensemble, and Symphonic Band. Beginner is a class for beginning musicians and Symphonic is for musicians with at least two years of experience. The Wind Ensemble, Concert Band, and Symphonic Band regularly compete in annual competitions at Busch Gardens Williamsburg Amusement Park and Kings Dominion Amusement Park. At these competitions the musicians play pieces of music while a panel of judges critiques their sound and style. The Longfellow Bands have won several awards in these competitions, and in June 2017 the Wind Ensemble, Concert Band, and Symphonic Band received 1st-place accolades at the Busch Gardens competition. At the annual District Assessment, the Longfellow Symphonic band has consistently received a rating of I (Superior).[70] Longfellow's orchestra program is also renowned, with Longfellow's Chamber orchestra winning the Middle School Division at the 2012 National Orchestra Festival in Atlanta in addition to the many awards it has received at Busch Gardens Williamsburg Amusement Park. With 250 students enrolled in an orchestra class in 2018, it is one of the most popular electives at the school, offering places in the Cadet Orchestra (Beginning-Intermediate), String Ensemble (Intermediate), Concert Orchestra (Advanced-Intermediate), Symphonic Orchestra (Intermediate-Advanced), and Chamber Orchestra (Most Advanced). Students must audition for places in each of the intermediate and higher orchestras. The Concert, Symphonic, and Chamber orchestras have regularly received I (Superior) ratings at the District Assessments. In 2018, the Longfellow Chamber Orchestra was invited to perform at the Midwest Clinic in Chicago, Illinois as one of only three middle schools worldwide attending that year. It also marked the first time in 12 years that an FCPS (K-12) performing group was invited to the Clinic and 30 years since the last time a string orchestra group was selected to perform. The Longfellow Orchestra program is currently under the direction of Jacqueline Robertson.
The school has two gymnasiums, two playing fields, a basketball court, and a quarter mile gravel track, as well as a library, a lecture hall, and a Black Box theater.
After-school activities at Longfellow include basketball, Improv, Tennis, Quiz Bowl, Debate, Art/Clay Club, Battle of the Books, Homework Club, Creative Writing Club, Math Counts, Science Bowl, Science Olympiad, and Science Olympiad as of March 2023.[71] The Longfellow Knowledge Masters team has been ranked as one of the top teams in the entire country and has received several first-place awards. The Science Bowl and Quiz Bowl team both took second in 2012 at each respective national tournament, while its History Bowl team won first place. In 2012, Tajin Rogers from Longfellow won the first-ever National History Bee, which was televised. Its 2017 Science Olympiad team finished 6th in the country, the highest placing of any Virginia Science Olympiad team at the national competition. The school has won many awards in mathematics and science. The school is also nationally ranked for its math department. [citation needed]
In early 2009, Longfellow Middle School introduced a new academic activity called "Lancer Time," a 23-minute period at the end of the day, intended to give students time to get help from their teachers without having to stay after school. Students can also work on homework and projects from other classes. The period is also used one day a week to teach the students about values such as honesty and leadership, as well as introducing better study habits to help students prepare for their exams. Other classes, as well as hall passing time, were shortened to account for the new period.
All Fairfax County Public Schools require students, beginning in third grade, to take an end-of-year exam known as the Standards of Learning test, or SOL, that covers the content learned during the school year.
School begins at 7:30 AM and ends at 2:15 PM.
Longfellow is one of the top feeder schools into the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJHSST), often with 60 or more representatives in the freshman class.
Longfellow Middle School has been honored with the Governor's Award for Excellence in Education from 2010 through 2018. The school was also awarded the Virginia Board of Education Excellence Award in 2013.[73]
The middle school also has a known tradition through the students called "sevie-bop day"
Poe's 881 students during the 2014–2015 school year were 49.04% Hispanic, 12.26% White, 24.29% Asian, 12.26% Black, and 2.16% unspecified.[76] During the same school year, 71.96% of the student body received free/reduced-priced meals and 34.73% were classified as having limited English.[76]
James W. Robinson, Jr. Secondary School, the largest school in Virginia, includes a middle school (grades 7–8)[77] and a high school (grades 9–12),[78] was named after Medal of Honor recipient James W. Robinson Jr.
Robinson opened in September 1971, taking its students from Oakton High School, Wilbert Tucker Woodson High School, West Springfield High School, and Fairfax High School. It was the second of Fairfax County's large "superschools," or secondary schools, which housed grades 7–12. Robinson's chief rival to the east, Lake Braddock, which opened in 1973, was the third of these schools from this era, the first of which was Hayfield, near Mount Vernon, which opened in 1969. The most recent addition to the series of secondary schools is South County in Lorton, which opened in 2005, taking its students from former Hayfield territory. With the opening of South County Middle School, the high school has since adopted "South County High School" as its official name.
Rocky Run is an AAP (FCPS Advanced Academics Program) middle school fed by Greenbriar East elementary school graduates who live in the Greenbriar subdivision, some Brookfield Elementary School students, Greenbriar West AAP students who live in the Greenbriar subdivision, and Poplar Tree Elementary School graduates.. The school primarily feeds into Chantilly HS. However, some students also attend Centreville, Fairfax, Westfield and Robinson High Schools due in part to "overcapacity" issues at Chantilly High School.[81] Rocky Run Middle School is on the corner of Poplar Tree Road and Stringfellow Road, the latter of which has been recently widened.
There are six teams at Rocky Run, three per grade (7th grade teams consists of Platinum, meteors, and Emerald. 8th grade teams consist of Kryptonite, Sapphire, and Tiger's Eye.).
In 2018, Fairfax County commenced a $47.6 million renovation[82] of Rocky Run, which temporarily closed several classrooms. To accommodate the temporary displacement, FCPS built a set of trailers called Ramsville, placing them on the back blacktop of the school. Ramsville has since been removed. Ramsville was composed of 7 big trailers with 4 rooms each, 1 smaller trailer with 2 rooms, and a bathroom trailer. This renovation added a two-floor addition and completely revamped the front of the school.
From 2005 to June 2012, 7th and 8th grade students were enrolled at South County Secondary School (now South County High School), which housed both middle and high school programs.[85]
The school mascot is the mustang, and the school colors are green, blue, and burgundy.
Thoreau is a feeder school for James Madison High School, George C. Marshall High School and Oakton High School. Because of the 2008 redistricting in Fairfax County, some of Thoreau's students (who previously lived in the James Madison High School district) were redistricted to Hughes Middle School and South Lakes High School. In 2018, due to new redistricting, some students were redistricted from Jackson Middle School to Thoreau Middle School.
Thoreau offers several advanced classes, including French 1, Spanish 1, Algebra 1, and Geometry. Thoreau's electives include Drama, Inventions and Innovations, Computer Solutions, Advanced Computer Solutions, Personal Development, Basic Skills, Family and Consumer Sciences, and Art. Students in both 7th and 8th grade are able to take honors classes for all core classes (foreign language is not included). Spanish and French are options.
Twain students are assigned to teams of approximately 125. Each team is coordinated by the four core teachers (from English, mathematics, science and social studies), a school counselor and an administrator. They are the Highlanders, Patriots, Pirates, Cavaliers, Hokies, Spartans, Panthers, and Lancers.
Mark Twain Middle offers the Gifted and Talented program, Special Education program, and ESOL.
As of 2024, the school's racial/ethnic breakdown was 13% Asian, 17% black, 32% Hispanic, 30% white, and 8% other.[94]
Walt Whitman Middle School is a middle school in Alexandria. Whitman Middle School is located in Region 3 and feeds into Mount Vernon High School.[1] The school serves students in grades 7 and 8.[95]
History
In 1958, Fairfax County began creating intermediate schools to create a smooth transition between elementary and high school. In 1959, Intermediate School #2 was officially named after American poet Walt Whitman. Whitman Intermediate was opened on September 5th, 1961, on Old Mount Vernon Road. In 1973, The school switched locations with Mount Vernon High School; this remained the school's location until 1985. Due to declining populations in the eastern side of the county, Whitman was closed. After rezoning, Stephen Foster (named for musician Stephen Foster) Intermediate was renamed Walt Whitman Intermediate in the fall of 1985. The original school existed school's inaugural principal was William D. McKinney. In 1990, Whitman Intermediate became Whitman Middle School.[96][97]
Administration
The current principal of Whitman Middle School is John Flowers. Before being appointed principal in 2023, Flowers was the principal of the High School Ahead Academy. in the Houston Independent School District. He was also the principal at Highland Heights Elementary School in Houston ISD and an assistant principal in Houston ISD and Spring ISD.[98][99]
