Fairfax City Votes To Change Name of Lanier Middle School

FAIRFAX CITY, VA — The City of Fairfax School Board voted Monday night to change the name of Lanier Middle School. The vote was 4-1, with City School Board member Dr. Mitch Sutterfield voting to keep the name.

The school was named after Sidney Lanier, a Confederate soldier who in the decades after his death was embraced as the "poet of the Confederacy." The school board will vote on a new name for the school this fall. The new name for the middle school will go into effect starting in the 2021-22 school year.

Lanier Middle School is one of the four schools in the City of Fairfax. The middle school was named after Sidney Lanier in 1959 when it was then part of Fairfax County Public Schools.

After hearing requests from community members, the City of Fairfax School Board held public engagement from July through September. Both city and county residents submitted comments online, through email and at two public hearings.

“I believe this is the right moment for this change,” City of Fairfax School Board Chairman Carolyn Pitches said Monday in a statement. “We need a name that represents who we are and one that represents our entire community. I overwhelmingly heard from students that they want to be proud of their school.”

Both City of Fairfax and Fairfax County students attend City of Fairfax schools. The City School Board — a five-member elected board representing Fairfax City residents — is responsible for the naming of all four city school buildings. Lanier Middle School has almost 1,050 students, with 55 percent of the student population coming from Fairfax County and 45 percent city residents.

Through a contract with Fairfax County Public Schools, the City of Fairfax owns the four school buildings — Fairfax High School, Lanier Middle School, Providence Elementary School and Daniels Run Elementary School — while Fairfax County Public Schools provide educational services, staffing, transportation and food services.

Starting in the 1920s, the United Daughters of the Confederacy worked to enhance Sidney Lanier's reputation as a way to celebrate the Confederacy and oppose integration. More than 10 schools across the country are named after Lanier, including Fairfax City's middle school.

During one of the public hearings, Rachan Sizemore Heizer, an at-large member of the Fairfax County School Board, said during the public comment period that "these schools were named to send a message to our students" and that "it's vital now that we send a different message."

Community members are asked to send their comments or suggestions for a new name by email to LanierComment@FairfaxVa.gov or to the city of Fairfax website at www.CityofFairfaxSchools.org. Name suggestions to replace Lanier Middle School will be collected through Friday, Sept. 18.