Built for $518,799 by the Edsall Corporation, Chapel Square Elementary School opened its doors to students for the first time on August 30, 1965. The school’s first principal was Elizabeth E. Henson. Chapel Square opened with 334 students in grades 1-6. The school’s enrollment grew to 553 in 1968, when the first kindergarten classes began.

Chapel Square Elementary School was designed by the architecture firm of Strang and Childers of Annandale, Virginia. Originally called Wakefield Chapel Elementary during the construction process, the building was formally given the name Chapel Square by the Fairfax County School Board in July 1965.

A hot lunch may be bought at school for 35 cents or pupils may bring lunch from home and buy milk at school. Milk bought separately is 6 cents, and ice cream is 15 cents. Menus are sent home each month; always check the menu since important notices are often on them. Parents are invited to lunch with their child any day, providing the office is notified by 9 a.m. Adult price is 65 cents. The office lends lunch money in emergencies only; children should pay daily or buy a weekly ticket on Monday morning. This gives experience in caring for property and meeting responsibility. ~ Chapel Square Elementary School Handbook, 1973-74

Memories of Chapel Square

Many alumni of Chapel Square Elementary School fondly recall Patrice Lushbaugh, the school’s music teacher, who held class in a portable trailer. Miss Lushbaugh taught the students songs by the Carpenters, the Doobie Brothers, Elton John, and Three Dog Night.

I loved my days at Chapel Square. It was a wonderful small school where you got to know the families. ~ Margo Shostik Poole, 2nd Grade Teacher

Another well-remembered teacher is Barbara Birkhead, who taught sixth grade. When she wasn’t driving around in a Volkswagen Beetle, Birkhead rode to school on a motorcycle, which she parked next to the building outside her classroom.

Mr. Jones was not only a great teacher but also a really nice guy. I remember he had a competition in class and gave a prize to the first person who could name all 50 states on a map. ~ Herbert Kaylor-Hawkins, Chapel Square Elementary School Attendees Facebook Group

Alumni also fondly recall the school’s annual field day, where students competed against teachers in a game of kickball. Some remember teacher Sarah Clem, who, if a student was caught chewing gum in her class, made them stick it on the end of their nose.

Chapel Chat

The Chapel Chat was Chapel Square Elementary School’s combined Student Cooperative Association and Parent Teacher Association newsletter. The following passage was printed in the newsletter on November 27, 1972.

First-graders in Room 2 will be acting and singing in a musical, “Mary Poppins,” sometime in December. They have been busy getting parts assigned and making scenery. Mrs. Clem’s class has been making and experimenting with carbon dioxide in science. Room 5 recently feasted on turkey, potatoes, a roll, and a choice of Jell-O or pie for dessert. They ate in their classrooms while adorned in traditional Indian headbands or Pilgrim cuffs and collars. Mrs. Sutton’s pupils have been communicating with each other in sign language. The kindergarteners will be going to the Smithsonian to attend an original fantasy, “The Hullabaloo Election of Osbert or Jess.” In this puppet show election, the audience will join the puppets, become the voting body, and have a continuing part in the production.

School Song

Sung to the tune of “O Christmas Tree”

O Chapel Square Elementary,
We sing your praise with liberty.
We think you’re great.
We think your grand.
The very best school in the land.
And years from now, we’ll still agree,
You’re the tops of the century.
O Chapel Square Elementary…

Chapel Square Closes

Student enrollment at Chapel Square Elementary School peaked at 693 during the 1972-73 school year and then began to gradually decline. The following enrollment data for Chapel Square was included in a report prepared by FCPS in April 1983.

By the late 1970s, communities that had seen rapid student enrollment growth during the post-World War II baby boom were faced with empty classrooms. School consolidation studies were initiated to identify schools for possible closure. When Chapel Square Elementary School’s enrollment dropped below 300 in 1982, the school became eligible for a consolidation study. To keep the Chapel Square school community together, the Chapel Square PTA reached out to the PTA of neighboring Wakefield Forest Elementary School. The parents formulated a proposal to close Chapel Square Elementary School and merge its student body and teachers, en masse, with Wakefield Forest.

“The children want to stay together, and the parents want to restore some of the programs we’ve lost. And Wakefield Forest is the only school that can do that,” said Tina Bianchi, former president of the Chapel Square PTA and leader of the move to merge Chapel Square with nearby Wakefield Forest. Chapel Square, built 12 years ago, has about 270 students, while Wakefield Forest, a 26-year-old facility, has 340 students, county school officials said. Wakefield Forest can hold 550 students; Chapel Square, about 400 students. Wakefield Forest has a gym. Chapel Square has two classrooms converted for physical education. The combined student populations would guarantee extra programs such as music instruction that have been scaled down at Chapel Square. ~ The Washington Post, September 22, 1982

The parents’ proposal to merge the two schools was approved by the School Board on January 13, 1983. Chapel Square Elementary School closed permanently at the end of the school year.

The Principals

The principals of Chapel Square Elementary School were Elizabeth E. Henson (1965-69), Patsy M. Costolo (1969-75), Robert L. Layne (1975-79), Susan Byrne Oakey (1979-82), and Prentice A. Christian, Jr. (1982-83).

Nancy Sprague Technology Center

In the spring of 1983, a committee was formed to determine the future use of the Chapel Square building. The committee made four recommendations, all of which were approved.

1. That the Chapel Square building be used as the new home of the James Lee Media Center.
2. That adequate space be provided to house Supervisor Audrey Moore’s Office (Audrey Moore was the Annandale Magisterial District representative on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors).
3. That, if possible, a room be reserved within the building to serve as an all-purpose community meeting room, at no cost to organizations.
4. That the grounds adjacent to the building be maintained and used for community and sports activities.

In January 1984, construction began at Chapel Square to convert the building to be used by the FCPS offices of Media Services and Instructional Technology. An open house for the completed facility was held on October 12, 1984. The following is a partial list of changes to the facility that community members saw at the open house.

• The cafeteria had become a processing facility for school library books.
• The school’s courtyard had been enclosed to create a television production studio.
• Classroom 3 was a community meeting room.
• The teacher’s lounge and workroom had been turned into a photography studio.
• Classrooms 16-20 had become storage space for educational films for classroom use.

The building has been reconfigured many times since 1984. However, it continues to house the FCPS television production studio, the Teaching Materials Preparation Center (TMPC), and other school-support functions of the Department of Information Technology. In 2004, the building was renamed the Nancy Sprague Technology Center in memory of the school system’s chief academic officer who had recently died. You can learn about Nancy Sprague and her career with FCPS in the following video.