School History

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Clearview Elementary School opened on September 4, 1979. Our first principal was Littell G. “Skip” McClung. On the occasion of our school’s 25^th anniversary celebration in May 2004, the Connection Newspaper interviewed McClung in which he described visiting the Clearview site in February 1979 while the building was under construction:

It wasn't under roof. It was just four walls. One thing I learned from [being an administrator] at Great Falls Elementary where we underwent two major renovations, get to know the construction foreman. So I took the construction foreman and the guy from Fairfax County schools overseeing the project to lunch. From then on, anything we wanted, we got.

Newspaper clipping showing a photograph of Clearview Elementary School during construction. The picture was taken in August 1979. The building itself looks complete but the school grounds are still bare earth with mounds of dirt and construction materials littered about. — The Reston Times, August 23, 1979. Courtesy of the Virginia Room, Fairfax County Public Library.

The above photograph, taken in late August 1979, provides an interesting glimpse into just how much work still needed to be done to the school grounds shortly before opening day. Inside the building, work on the classrooms was finished on schedule, but the cafeteria and gymnasium were not ready in time for the opening of school. Clearview’s first teachers spent Labor Day weekend readying their classrooms. Approximately 300 children walked through our doors the following Tuesday. Our school originally had 13 teachers, three classroom wings, and an open library. It was also an English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) cluster school. Children needing ESOL services were bused to Clearview, rather than attending their neighborhood school as is done today.

Design and Construction

Clearview Elementary School was designed by the architecture firm of L. B. C. & W. Associates. Our school was built by the V. F. Pavone Construction Company for $2.4 million. The first addition to Clearview was constructed in 1982 by S. & J. Associates for $525,900.

Black and white photograph, taken in 1982, showing the new wing under construction. Work has just begun on the cinderblock walls and the grounds inside are being graded in preparation for the pouring of the concrete pad. The existing building and a bulldozer can be seen in the background. — Construction gets under way on a classroom addition to Clearview Elementary in 1982, financed with school bond funds.

In 1986, Principal McClung was succeeded by our second principal, Bernie Gross, who led Clearview until 1989. During Gross’ last year as principal, construction began on second addition to Clearview. The new six-classroom wing became a center for pre-school children with special needs.

Black and white photograph of Bernie Gross from our 1987 yearbook. He is seated at his desk, talking on the phone. — Principal Bernie Gross, 1986-1989

In 1989, Clearview’s assistant principal, Sheila Bertrand, was appointed as our school’s third principal. She served in that role for 14 years, retiring at the end of the 2002-03 school year. Throughout her time at Clearview student enrollment rose and fell several times. Bertrand stated that the opening of Dranesville and McNair elementary schools (in 1988 and 2001 respectively), and the ensuing school boundary shifts, had a significant impact on enrollment. "One year you would have 760 students and the next, 520," Bertrand stated in an interview.

Black and white portrait of Sheila Bertrand from our 1991 yearbook. — Principal Sheila Bertrand, 1989-2003

The Sheila Bertrand Library

In July 2003, the Fairfax County School Board passed a resolution officially naming our library “The Sheila Bertrand Library.” This was a fitting tribute because Principal Bertrand began her career with FCPS in 1978 as a reading teacher. She described the library as “the heart of a school,” and believed that reading was the fundamental skill that underlies all learning. “If you can teach a child to read, then that child will succeed,” she said.

Stories from Clearview

Clearview has a way of attracting, and retaining dedicated staff, many of whom were parents who began volunteering when their children were students then stayed on in staff positions. There have been a bunch of us that have left and come back. I started out in 1989 as a parent of a first-grader. Then I taught third grade here, went to Herndon Middle School and came back three years ago. You just return. It's one of the most supportive communities you can work with.
~ Suzi Powell, Former Assistant Principal.

Yearbook photographs of principals Elaine Wellner and Kimberly Willison. On the left is a photograph of Wellner, from 2006. She is seated in a teepee that has been set up in a classroom and is reading a book entitled Plains Indians to a group of five students. The photograph of Willison was taken in 2013. She is seated on a bench with her arms around two smiling students. — In 2003, Elaine Wellner (Left) was appointed principal of Clearview. She was succeeded by our current principal, Kimberly Willison, in 2009.

What's in a Name?

Learn about the origin of our school's name in this video produced for Fairfax County Public Schools’ cable television channel Red Apple 21.