Katherine Johnson Middle School (formerly Lanier Middle School) was built in 1960. In the fall of 2020, the City of Fairfax School Board voted to change the name to someone who more closely exemplifies our values and equity focus. On July 1, 2021, Lanier transitioned to Katherine Johnson Middle School. Known recently for her fame as one of the mathematicians in “Hidden Figures” that helped get the US’ first manned-space flight successfully launched by what is now known as NASA. She was a brilliant mathematician and teacher who was born on August 26, 1918 and died in 2020 at the age of 101.

Johnson Middle School staff members and community members strive to ensure our school is a supportive, nurturing and encouraging environment which teaches students to become critical and creative thinkers, active problem solvers, effective communicators, and contributing citizens. Our actions consistently show that we value and support the social, emotional, and academic successes of students.

Students are assigned to a team of approximately 130 students who share the same English, science, and social studies teachers. Each team has a school counselor who is closely involved in weekly team meetings and parent conferences. They, along with department based professional learning communities work collaboratively to assess, plan, instruct, and support student learning. The intent is to provide rigorous, targeted and engaging learning, as well as enrichment and remediation opportunities for all children. These efforts work to close achievement gaps and advance students to higher levels of proficiency.

As a middle school, we realize that we have two critical years with students. As a result, we have made it a priority to consistently communicate and collaborate with our feeder elementary schools and Fairfax High School to ensure that student transition and learning from one school to another is a seamless process. Forging positive and productive partnerships with parents is also very important to us. Our approaches to learning are responsive to and respectful of the individual needs of middle school students.