Current Events: Loudoun Might Close 4 Old Schools

Aldie School (2011)

Another budget year, another fight to keep Loudoun's older schools open. Lincoln, Aldie, Hamilton, and Hillsboro. I myself am not in favor of closing the schools. Would they be reopened after the Board of Supervisors gives more money to the school system? What happens to the buildings when they're closed? What would happen to the surrounding community if these schools close? What do the kids get out of this, opened or closed, because that's really what this debate should be centered around, not the budget.

Many of these older schools have been on the chopping blocks for years. It's a favorite topic of boards during budget season. My school, Loudoun County High School, has even been up for consideration at least at one time, with the idea for the building to become a new public schools administration building (back when North Street was used).

Middleburg ES is thankfully off of the list, set to become the area's first charter school (yet still under LCPS supervision). Hillsboro is also thinking of this route. Aldie wants to expand. I haven't read of any plans from Lincoln's community.

My big thing is historical preservation. If they are no longer schools, they should be used in other ways that continue to help their surrounding area out in some capacity. Community Centers have been a popular reuse of school buildings here in Loudoun. Others possibilities could be a small shopping area (each room a different store), a town hall, a museum, or even a more creative attraction. Any adaptive reuse while setting aside a little space to honor the building's original purpose would make me happy.

These buildings have made impacts on the Loudoun community, generation after generation. They still have the ability to teach students. I wish the best for all the schools.


In other news, Superintendent Dr. Hatrick is resigning (old news), and Eric Williams, superintendent of York County (down here in Hampton Roads) will be taking his place (new news). I wish him godspeed (and still crossing my fingers for a Hatrick Elementary)


Some articles I looked at while writing for this article:
Closure threat may become reality for Loudoun's small schools
Aldie, in booming Loudoun, pitches school expansion to keep its village feel
Western Loudoun Families Weary Of Small School Fight
Public Hearing Tuesday On Middleburg School Closure

Round School Design



  In 1966, three schools opened up, all with different designs. One was Guilford, which from the air was a square with a courtyard in the middle

Guilford ES. The gym at the top was added in 2000.
Map imagery from Google Earth.

   The other two are arguably the most unique-looking schools in Loudoun County. They were Catoctin and Hillsboro. These schools were built with the round school design concept.

 

Hillsboro ES. Map imagery from Google Earth.

  

   On August 13th, 1964, the Loudoun Times Mirror reported that both schools were "tentatively approved" by the School board and would be decided upon on the 18th.

"Both schools, of the new round-wing idea in educational construction, were designed by the architectural firm of MacIlroy and Parris of Richmond; both partners, Kenneth G. MacIlroy and Fred P. Parris discussed the slightly controversial and provocative plans with the Board. ...The architects termed the two schools as the "most economic buildings possible for the educational space required." "    - Loudoun Times Mirror

   And the schools were approved. There was a significant population growth in the 60's and 70's, thanks to Dulles Airport and planned neighborhoods coming to Loudoun. It was a period where a lot of schools needed to be built. I feel like this really gave the school system an ability to experiment, to try some new ideas. 

   Out of the three designs tested out in 1966, only one went on to be used again. Guilford's design was reused by Sully in 1968. 

Sully ES

   Perhaps round schools weren't really Loudoun's thing. Maybe its novelty had already worn off by then. Maybe the economical gains were minimal. Maybe Sully needed a larger capacity than the round school designs used could provide. In any case, round schools were now a thing of the past. The round school design was not completely useless, as both schools are still a part of LCPS today.

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   Now, for a little about the schools themselves.

Hillsboro ES

   Hillsboro is one circle. That's literally the whole school. It is the second smallest school in the county (Middleburg is #1). It is also the oldest operating school in the county that has never been expanded to. Many circular designed schools have never been expanded to because it is very challenging. Where do you go from a circle? A classroom "cottage" (fancy word for a permanent trailer) has been added a few steps away from the school to add more capacity.

Hillsboro ES

Hillsboro ES

   Hillsboro is not a perfect circle. To accommodate more administrative space, 3/10's of the school juts out, but it still curves, like a piece of pie was pulled out and then the crack was filled in. There is one hallway from the entrance that leads to the core, a circular multi-purpose room with a stage. The six classrooms' doors are off of the core (originally 7, but that classroom is now a computer lab/specialty teacher offices). And the core has "a skylight covered by an electrically-controlled shade" (LTM).

Catoctin ES. Map imagery from Google Earth.

   Catoctin was originally what I've written in my notes as "Two Hillsboros plus an office and multipurpose room." These circles, unlike Hillsboro's, are perfect circles. They are connected to the front office section by enclosed breezeways. Each circle has ten classrooms.

   Like Hillsboro, the center of the the circles in Catoctin have a skylight.

And a smaller stage area.

   Catoctin had a "future expansion" area for a third circle to be attached to the office section. When it came time for expanding the school, the future expansion replaced curves with corners.

Backside view of the '83 (center) and '99 (far right) additions

   It looks like at one time, there used to be a window (like at Hillsboro) where all the yellow-walled pieces are. It is very common for older schools to cover/get rid of excess windows. Windows don't keep the heat in as well.

 

Catoctin ES

   Loudoun County HS also has covered some parts of its windows

Loudoun County High School, Lord Loudoun 1962
(The windows also don't open up like that anymore)

  

Loudoun County High School (2012)

   Back to Catoctin, here's a picture of the office section of the original 1966 school, which holds the Library, office, and the multipurpose room.

  

Office section of Catoctin ES

   Interestingly, there is not a lot of information online about round schools that I could find.

Here is an article and newstory I managed to find if you're interested:

Round House Weirdness

Salem seeks a new angle for round elementary school (Original link provided whole article but has since died. Updated link provides a sampling. Apologies)

[Map imagery updated in 2020 due to deleting an email that held the data for all my old posts' photos.]

Happy 4th of July!

   This may seem like it's 4 days late, but I was just in Hillsboro last night for their 4th of July celebration. They shoot their fireworks off right behind the elementary school and the community center! It was fantastic.

   Hillsboro has a wonderful small town feel. Well, it is a small town to begin with, but the town looks great and is well taken care of. There also seems to be a great sense of community. Everyone came out for this celebration. Although, with everyone coming out, it was hard to find parking in town. Trying to get out afterwards was also challenging, yet we achieved both. 

   The fireworks show wasn't as grand as Ida Lee's show, and I guessed that beforehand. It was a small town show, and it fit the town and the community nicely. I felt like this was how eastern Loudoun County was before its massive growth. It felt authentic. I'm glad I came out, and I hope I get more opportunities to come out to Hillsboro in the future.

Recent Reads: Alice in Loudoun Land

   Looking through old files, I came across an old typed script titled "Alice in Loudoun Land." It was a show put on by the Music Committee for the Spring Music Festival, a possible predecessor of today's All-County Chorus. I saw some other programs for other Music Festivals, it didn't seem like the other ones had stories along with them, so this seemed to be something different than the norm.

   Based loosely on Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland, in "Alice in Loudoun Land," Alice follows the White Rabbit down a hole and ends up in the County of Loudoun! The Rabbit, the Narrator, and a "Charm" proceed to give Alice a brief overview of the history of Loudoun and its various towns and villages. (I have a full overview of the plot at the end of this post)

   Intermingled in the story are many songs. A Glee Club sang Indian Love Call, America the Beautiful, Wild Blue Yonder, Jacob's Ladder, Were You There?, and Old MacDonald Had a Farm. 2nd and 3rd graders sang Billy Boy, while 4th and 5th graders sang Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree. A boy named Stephen Foster had his own musical number of Camp Town Races. This production also featured many dance numbers, including an Indian Dance, a Milk-Maid Dance, a Virginia Reel, a parade of wooden soldiers, and a square dance. It was quite a production.

   It was performed on May 13, 1955 at the old Hillsboro stone school, now the Hillsboro Community Center. It's a short script, only 5 pages long, although the show would have made up for time with all of the many songs and dances. It's... cute, in a sort of old-timey way. It's more a music festival with a script than a show with songs. And that's totally fine for that sort of thing.

   My favorite stage direction was "Small children throw paper airplanes in audience." I wouldn't give kids the power to throw a projectile into an audience ("Oh god, they shot my eye out!")

   Attached to the script was a note to then-Superintendent Oscar Emerick, asking if he, his wife, and/or his staff would like to attend.

   A quick google search reveals this show has no online presence. I'm glad I could shine some light on this forgotten piece. Although, this will probably the first (and possibly) last post on "Alice in Loudoun Land," unless a revival happens in the future.

Sources:
LCPS Records
Loudoun Times Mirror May 1955

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The plot overview and other remarks are continued below: