Lake Braddock Secondary School

Lake Braddock Secondary School
Established
School Type Combined public high school and middle school
Principal Dave Thomas
Location Burke
Homepage [1]

Lake Braddock Secondary School is a combined high school and middle school in Burke.

The school opened in 1973 with former Edison High School Principal John W. Alwood in charge.

On November 10, 1982, 18-year-old dropout James Q. Stevens entered the school with a rifle and took several people, including Principal Alwood, hostage in a standoff that lasted 21 hours before Stevens finally surrendered.[1][2]

Mark Twain Middle School Principal Linda Burke became the principal of the school in 1996.[3]

In February 2001, Director of High School Guidance Jean Jones was placed on administrative leave for changing the grades of nine students, allegedly with racial motivations, although this latter charge was refuted.[4][5][6] The revelation of this information prompted Superintendent Dan Domenech to start another investigation to find the source of the leak, because while the Fairfax County Public Schools system dislikes employee misconduct, it hates the public release of embarassing information about employee misconduct even more.[6]

However, the investigation of Jones was not able to find sufficient evidence to fire her, and she was allowed to retire in November 2001.[7]

A three-year, $72 million renovation of the school, which converted its formerly open floor plan to more traditional classrooms and added another 75,000 square feet of space, was completed in September 2007.[8]

In October 2007, Principal Burke was named as the assistant superintendent for Cluster VII, replacing Peter Noonan.[9][3] Retired Hayfield Secondary School Principal Vic Lutz served as interim principal until Associate Principal Dave Thomas became the new principal.[3]

On April 20, 2016, 16-year-old Brenda Carina Soto was found unconscious in one of the bathrooms at the school and taken to Inova Fairfax Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.[10][11]

References

  1. ↑ Moore, Molly, and Patricia E. Bauer. "Hostages Held in Va. High School." The Washington Post (1974-Current file): 2. Nov 11 1982.ProQuest. Web. 5 Oct. 2016.
  2. ↑ "Man Holding 9 Hostages at High School Gives Up." New York Times (1923-Current file): 1. Nov 12 1982. ProQuest. Web. 5 Oct. 2016.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Krischke, Scott J. "Moving on Up." Connection Newspapers. Connection Newspapers, 31 Oct. 2007. Web. 07 Oct. 2016.
  4. ↑ "Secondary School Official Reportedly Altered Grades." Washington Times. The Washington Times, 28 Feb. 2001. Web. 28 Nov. 2014.
  5. ↑ Seymour,Liz and Michael D. Shear. "Changes Alleged in Grades of 9 Students." The Washington Post: 0. Mar 01 2001. ProQuest. Web. 28 Nov. 2014.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Bonaiuto, Dominic. "Grade Fixing Still under Review at Lake Braddock." FairfaxTimes.com. Post-Newsweek Media, Inc./FairfaxTimes.com, 7 Mar. 2001. Web. 28 Nov. 2014.
  7. ↑ "Grade-altering Suspect Jones Retires." Washington Times. The Washington Times, 6 Dec. 2001. Web. 28 Nov. 2014.
  8. ↑ "Lake Braddock Officially Unveils Renovation." Connection Newspapers. Connection Newspapers, 19 Sept. 2007. Web. 28 Nov. 2014.
  9. ↑ Fairfax County Public Schools. Linda Burke Named Assistant Superintendent of Cluster VII. Fairfax County Public Schools News Releases. Fairfax County Public Schools, 12 Oct. 2007. Web. 28 Nov. 2014.
  10. ↑ FCPD Public Affairs Bureau. "Detectives Investigate Death in Burke." Fairfax County Police Department News. Fairfax County Police Department, 21 Apr. 2016. Web. 04 Oct. 2016.
  11. ↑ Swalec, Andrea. "Teen Girl Dies After Being Found in VA School Bathroom." NBC4 Washington. NBCUniversal Media, 21 Apr. 2016. Web. 04 Oct. 2016.

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