Nuestra Escuela Langston Hughes MS

What's in a Name? -- Langston Hughes Middle School

This video explores the history of Langston Hughes Middle School in Fairfax County, Virginia. It highlights the school's namesake, Langston Hughes, and offers a contrast between Fairfax County Public Schools of the past and today. It delves into the changes and developments in the education system and celebrates the diversity and achievements of the school community.

For today you have the strength of youth and youth is tomorrow's man so work map out your life and with wisdom make your plan. This is an excerpt from the poem to youth by James Langston Hughes.

Langston Hughes was an American poet, novelist, playwright, short story writer, and columnist. He was born in Joplin, Missouri in 1902.

Hughes's life and works were enormously influential during the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s. He is credited as one of the earliest innovators of the literary art form known as jazz poetry.

In November 1924, he moved to Washington, D.C. His first book of poetry, "The Weary Blues," was published two years later, droning a drowsy syncopated tune rocking back and forth to a mellow croon. "I heard a Negro play down on Lennox Avenue the other night by the pale dull pallor of an old gas light," he did a lazy sway to the tune of those weary blues.

In 1929, he finished his college education at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, and the following year his first novel, "Not Without Laughter," won the Harmon Gold Medal for Literature.

Langston Hughes was such a prolific writer that he is often called the "Shakespeare of Harlem." Hughes died from complications of cancer in 1967. In 1979, Langston Hughes Middle School opened in Reston and is named in honor of this great American writer.

Today I want to tell you the story of a school named not just for a man but for a vision. Langston Hughes Middle School in the heart of Reston, Virginia began its journey in 1979 not with a building of its own but with a dream shared with South Lakes High School. For the first year, students attended classes in the afternoon while high schoolers used the space in the morning. It was an unusual beginning, but one that reflected adaptability, community, and commitment. By November 1980, that dream took root in its own home. And in May of 1981, the school was officially dedicated. But before the doors ever opened, the most important decision was made. What would this school be called? With input from students, parents, and community leaders, the answer became clear. Langston Hughes, a poet, a dreamer, a voice for the unheard. His name wasn't just a tribute. It was a promise. Over the years, Langston Hughes Middle School grew classrooms, filled Krun, and flourished. In 2019, a major renovation began. A 39 million expansion that added space, technology, and new energy to the campus. By 2021, students return to a building that matches their potential. This school is not just about academics. It's about community. In 2018, a weekend food pantry was launched to support students facing hunger. In 2020, Fox, the school hosted the National Education Association's Read Across America celebration, welcoming author Kwame Alexander and Jazz bassist Amy Shook to inspire and uplift. Today, Langston Hughes Middle School stands as more than just a place of learning. It is a living tribute to the spirit of its namesake. Creative, resilient, and ever forward-looking. It is a place where every student's voice matters, where dreams are spoken and pursued.