Named for the Green Acres residential subdivision, Green Acres Elementary School was built beginning in the summer of 1961 by the Wayne Construction Company at a cost of $411,000. The school was established in February 1962 with its own teaching staff at Fairfax Elementary School, under Fairfax’s principal, Dorothy B. Collier.

Construction of Green Acres Elementary School proceeded slowly, and the 20-classroom building wasn’t completed until the summer of 1962. Green Acres opened its doors to students for the first time on September 4, 1962. Dorothy Collier left her position at Fairfax to serve as principal of Green Acres.

Although it was located within the boundaries of the City of Fairfax, which had incorporated in 1961, Green Acres Elementary School was owned and operated by Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS). The City of Fairfax School Board entered into an agreement with FCPS which stipulated that the city would pay tuition for its students to attend Green Acres.

Desegregation

Green Acres Elementary School opened at a time when Fairfax County was in the process of desegregating its public schools. In the fall of 1963, Doris Smith, a first grader, became one of the first eight students to integrate Green Acres. An additional eight Black children were admitted the following year. Some of these students had attended nearby Eleven Oaks Elementary, an all-Black school that once stood on School Street.

Separate Classes

Pictured below is one of Green Acres Elementary Schools’ all-girl classes. Green Acres was one of several FCPS elementary schools that had a few separate classes for boys and girls. The practice began in FCPS in the 1960s, when some educators felt that boys would progress faster if they did not have to compete with girls academically. The practice of separating classes by gender ceased at the close of the 1973-74 school year.

Becoming a City School

In 1975, the Fairfax City School Board asked the Fairfax City Council to place a school bond referendum on the ballot to fund the renovation of Westmore Elementary and improvements to the five other schools to which city students were assigned. After holding a public hearing, the City Council voted down the School Board’s referendum proposal. One of the primary concerns of the public and city council members was that four of the schools, including Green Acres Elementary School, were owned by Fairfax County, not the City of Fairfax, and as such city taxpayers should not be asked to fund improvements to county-owned facilities.

In May 1976, Frederick Silverthorne, a city councilman, requested that a study be conducted to determine whether the City of Fairfax should buy Lanier Intermediate School and Green Acres, Layton Hall, and Westmore Elementary Schools from the county. A referendum was held in January 1979, and voters approved the purchase of the four school properties. After ownership of the schools was transferred to the city, Green Acres continued to be operated by FCPS.

In May 1985, the City of Fairfax School Board hired architect Rocco V. Tricarico to design an addition to the media center, and a multipurpose room for physical education and recreation classes at Green Acres Elementary School. The $230,000 project was scheduled for completion by May 1986.

A Look Back

In 1990, Green Acres Elementary School was the subject of the FCPS cable television channel series “Profile.” The Red Apple 21 crew spent several days at Green Acres, gathering interviews with teachers and classroom footage. The resulting 30-minute documentary provides a fascinating snapshot of Green Acres.

Perched on the roof of Green Acres Elementary School in Fairfax is a weather mast with a rain gauge, thermometer, and other instruments. A cable links the mast to a personal computer in a classroom below. Students, guided by computer aide Dana Smith and other teachers, use captured weather data in their studies of science, math, geography, and other subjects. Green Acres’ weather statistics also flow, via modems and phone lines, from the classroom PC to newsroom computers at Channel 4 in Washington, D.C. There, meteorologist Bob Ryan and his crew use the information in their forecasts and occasionally mention the school on the air. ~ The Washington Post, November 14, 1994

Green Acres Closes

In 1997, Fairfax City voters approved a $25.6 million school bond issue to improve the city’s schools. Most of the money was earmarked to consolidate the city’s four elementary schools into two renovated and expanded buildings, namely Jermantown and Layton Hall.

Officials say that the student-teacher ratios in the new schools would remain the same as in the existing, smaller schools and that both would offer full-day kindergarten. The schools would expand space for curriculum enhancements, including special math, science, language arts, technology, and communications labs. Also, the two schools would have full-time teachers for music, art, and physical education, compared with part-time teachers now. Improvements proposed in the bond referendum are to be completed by September 2000. ~ The Washington Post, October 30, 1997

In Spring 2000, in anticipation of the consolidation of Green Acres with Layton Hall Elementary School, the City of Fairfax School Board gave Layton Hall a new name – Daniels Run Elementary School.
As part of the consolidation program, it was decided that Daniels Run would only admit children who resided within the City of Fairfax. Green Acres students who resided outside the city were reassigned to Oak View and Fairfax Villa elementary schools in Fairfax County.

Green balloons with 1962-2000 in white lettering decorated the Green Acres Elementary School property on Saturday, June 10, celebrating the student reunion and the closing down of the 38-year-old school. Several hundred people gathered at the ceremony… reminiscing about the good times they had and looking forward to the good times in the future. ~ The Connection, June 15-21, 2000

In the fall of 2000, some Daniels Run students were temporarily housed at Green Acres while the renovation and expansion of the Layton Hall/Daniels Run building was completed. On November 27, 2000, Dogwood Elementary School in Reston was destroyed by fire. Classes for some of the displaced students were held at Green Acres until construction of the new Dogwood Elementary was completed some 14 months later. Since that time, Green Acres has been home to offices of the city’s Parks and Recreation and Public Works departments, a community center, a senior center, and a preschool.

The School Song

The Green Acres school song was sung to the tune of the “Green Acres” television program theme song. The lyrics were written by Anna Seward Macdonald, then a second grader in Mrs. Mahanes’ class.

Green Acres is the place to be
Yes Green Acres is the school for me!
We read and write and learn geography
At Green Acres Elementary!
Our principal's Miss Dorothy Collier, B.
She really needs a lot of sympathy-
'Cause there's a lot of kids like me
In Green Acres Elementary!
Day in and day out, you see
We work and eat and have P.E.
Now I am sure you'll all agree,
We're Green Acres absolutely!!

The Principals

The principals of Green Acres Elementary School were Dorothy B. Collier (1962-68), Roberta K. Mahoney (1968-85), Jane L. Detienne (1985-88), Susan S. Oblon (1988-91), Gayle Andrews (1991-98), and Marian R. Sanders (1998-2000).