Louise Archer Elementary School sign, Vienna VA, Dec 2022

Louise Archer Elementary School is an elementary school in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, United States, and is part of

Fairfax County Public Schools The Fairfax County Public Schools system (FCPS) is a school division in the U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. It is a branch of the Fairfax County government which administers public schools in Fairfax County and the City of Fairfax. FCPS's headqu ...

. It was founded in 1867 as a school for African-American children. It is designated by Fairfax County as an elementary school center for advanced academic programs.

History

The school was originally established in 1867 as Vienna Colored School, a school for African-American children. The school moved to its current location, then a black neighborhood, in 1939. Mrs. Louise Archer served as the school's principal and taught students with two other teachers. She taught and fed all of the students. In the early 1940s, the only water was from the Salisbury Spring a mile away. Boys had to go and fetch water, and Mrs. Archer fed the children meals she cooked on a pot-bellied stove. The old school building is what is now part of the northern section of the school near the cafeteria. In 1950 the school was renamed Louise Archer Elementary School. In the late 1960s,

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based ...

and his trio played at the school, at the invitation of the band teacher at that time, Philmore Hall, who had once been Ellington's trumpet teacher."The Tuesday Conversation: Jamie Broumas," Gazette.net, 23 November 2010
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AAP program

Louise Archer has a level 4 Advanced Academics Program (AAP).

Chess Club

In the 2009 school year, the Louise Archer Chess Club won seven trophies and awards. The school won 3rd place in the country in a tournament in spring 2009, and not far behind in another National Chess Competition. The school has won the Kent Gardens Cup last year and for seven years straight from 2005-2012.

WLATV

The morning announcements and school news are transmitted on WLATV closed-circuit television that is run by select 5th and 6th grade students.

Notable attendees

* Jamie Broumas, jazz singer

References

External links

"Description of Vienna Colored School in 1940s," YouTube (accessed 14 May 2015)

Hobbs, Bonnie, "‘We Formed Bonds of Friendship at Archer’: Elementary school celebrates 75th anniversary," ''Vienna and Oakton Connection'', 'March 12-18, 2014
{{Authority control Public elementary schools in Virginia Schools in Fairfax County, Virginia Historically segregated African-American schools in Virginia Vienna, Virginia Educational institutions established in 1939 Magnet schools in Virginia 1939 establishments in Virginia