While there can only be one Fairfax County Public Schools system, members of the FCPS board and Fairfax County Board of Supervisors congratulated the namesake Fairfax School District in Bakersfield, Calif. on its 125th anniversary.
In a proclamation the supervisors formally declare Sept. 10, 2016 “Fairfax School Day” in Fairfax County.
The document recognizes the school system for having roots in the first Fairfax: Businessman Henry W. Klipstein left Virginia and established a “Virginia Colony” in California in 1887 along with several of his neighbors, it explains.
The Fairfax School District was founded shortly after, in 1891.
Origins of the colony are memorialized to this day by names in Bakersfield including Fairfax Road, Virginia Avenue and Quantico Street.
Current FCPS board chair Sandy Evans also sent a congratulatory letter to the namesake school system’s superintendent Michael Coleman.
She writes the Bakersfield school district’s motto “Empowering Students to Succeed” is “reflective” of FCPS’ own mission statement.
“We both recognize that successful learning occurs in a safe, welcoming environment,” Evans says in the letter, “and that our community and parent volunteers are an essential component of a well-rounded education. We are proud to be linked with the Fairfax School District in educating tomorrow’s global citizens.”