In 1968, the first eight of the JEB Stuart Crew Club travelled to the United Kingdom to participate in the Henley Royal Regatta where they won the Princess Elisabeth Challenge Cup. Instituted in 1946 for public schools in the UK, the PE Challenge Cup was opened to overseas entries in 1964 and JEB Stuart became the third US crew to win the event. In 1997 the school had one computer for every eight students, which changed to one computer for every 1.8 students in 2003. The school has been featured in National Geographic magazine. In 2006, then-principal Mel Riddile, former director of Straight, Inc., drug rehabilitation program for teens, was chosen as the principal of the year by the National Association of Secondary School Principals. Riddile moved to T. C. Williams High School in neighboring Alexandria City at the end of the 2005-2006 school year. Assistant Principal Pamela Jones took his place and retired in 2012. After 40 years at Stuart, veteran math department chair Stu Singer retired in protest when Stuart administrators dismantled a remedial math program that had given Stuart the highest pass rate in the county. Singer later published a book on the program. Singer labeled the dismantling of this program "education malpractice that can only be described as unconscionable." Math scores plummeted after the reorganization. Other successful programs were also dismantled. Faculty morale fell to the lowest in the county, and many teachers retired or transferred out in protest. In 2014, the district sent a support team to Stuart to help the beleaguered administration. On April 22, 2015, Fairfax County Superintendent of Schools Karen Garza named Penny Gros as principal of Stuart High School. Penny Gros had previously been the principal of Glasgow Middle School, the middle school for the Stuart High School Pyramid. Maria Eck was named the new principal of Justice High School, effective July 23, 2018. Eck was serving as principal of Poe Middle School, where she has been a leader since 2014. Penny Gros moved on to a position in FCPS Region 2.
Name and controversy
In 1959 when the school opened, the Fairfax County school board opposed racial integration of its schools, and the name, J. E. B. Stuart High School, reflected the school board's sentiments. In June 2015, actress Julianne Moore and Hollywood producer Bruce Cohen began a petition asking that the name of the school be changed, alleging that it was named after confederate general J. E. B. Stuart amid massive resistance to the desegregation of public schools after Brown v. Board of Education. On September 16, 2017, residents of the school area participated in a non-binding vote on new name options, and were able to rank their top three choices. Top choices received five points, second place choices three, and third place choices one. Stuart High School received the majority of the votes. This was heavily concentrated in first-place and seemed to be a polarizing choice. Under District rules, each household was allowed to cast one vote, regardless of the number of members. But regardless of the vote, the board decided to change the name to Justice. Later, some board members expressed concern with the Thurgood Marshall name as a possibility as there was already a Marshall High School in the District, named after George C. Marshall and simply was settled without vote but of one member of the board to Justice High School. It was proposed and finalized. On October 26, 2017, the school board approved the name Justice High School with a 7-4 vote, describing it as a compromise name that collectively honored Thurgood Marshall, Barbara Rose Johns, and Louis Gonzaga Mendez, Jr., among others who worked towards justice. The name change was implemented Summer 2018.
Demographics
In 2001 the school had "one of the most ethnically diverse student populations in the country." In September 2015 the student body was 50.3% Hispanic/Latino, 23.4% White, 13.6% Asian, 10.1% Black/African American, 2.4% two or more races, and 0.2% American Indian/Alaska Native.
