Stuart High School trophies will not be removed
The rumors about the trophies, banners, and other memorabilia with the Stuart name being removed from Justice High School are false, states Fairfax County Public Schools Region 2 Assistant Superintendent Fabio Zuluaga.
“The trophies, banners, and plaques earned for athletic or academic achievements under the Stuart High School name will remain on display at the school,” Zuluaga wrote in an email to the community July 27. “There are no plans to remove these items from their display cases or sell them to raise funds for the name change or for any other purpose.”
When the school board created an ad hoc committee in 2016 to consider a name change, one of its tasks was to “provide ideas for ways to honor and preserve the school’s history, traditions, and past achievements and to memorialize its decades as J.E.B. Stuart High School,” he says. “Justice High School and FCPS are committed to preserving the school’s history, which was the school board’s intent.”
“The transition from Stuart to Justice has gone smoothly,” Zuluaga says. He is monitoring the transition, along with the new principal, Maria Eck, and former principal Penny Gros, who is now the executive principal for Region 2.
The Justice sign is on the front of the building, marquee, and scoreboards, there are new banners in the parking lot, and the Justice Wolves logo is on the gym floor and welcome mats.
Community members are invited to the school’s rededication ceremony Sept. 7, at 5 p.m. FCPS has set up an online donation page for contributions to support a name change. Most of the donated funds will be used to purchase new sports and band uniforms.
“The transition from Stuart to Justice has gone smoothly,”
What a joke! People are upset because their voices were not heard and one person made all the decisions for an entire community. Sandy Evans you need to be removed.
No wonder you are anonymous. The decision was made by the entire school board not one person and the school board listened to thousands of people who commented at school board meetings, at several meetings at the high school, at ad Hoc name change Committee meetings, and through e-mails, letters, phone calls and in person meetings over the course of 2 and one half years. I understand anonymous that you are upset over the change of the school’s name but to say that people’s voices were not heard is simply inaccurate. Karen Keys Gamarra ran for the school board strongly advocating the name change and she was elected to an at-large seat last August 29 by a 2 to 1 margin with a 3 to 1 margin in the precincts in the high school area. Only 17% of the households in the high school area voted to keep the name.