On Oct. 26 Franklin Sherman Elementary in McLean will celebrate Centennial Homecoming. The day begins at 8 a.m. with the Monster Mash Dash – a 5K and family fun run through the streets of McLean. Then, at 2:30 p.m. the festivities continue with the Centennial Homecoming Carnival. The entire community is invited to come connect with students, parents, and colleagues while enjoying carnival rides and games, a petting zoo, and live entertainment from Bach2Rock bands, McLean High School Cheerleaders, and Longfellow Theater performers. Carnival admission is free and open to the public. Food and drinks will be available for purchase.
On Oct. 19, 1914, a two-story, six-room school in the Providence School District of Fairfax County opened its doors to 29 students. From its inception, it was futuristic in its design and philosophy. Sherman, a board member of the Providence School District of Fairfax County, had to overcome strong parental objections in order to gain support to merge four small field schools located in the Langley, Lewinsville, Chesterbrook, and Spring Hill areas into the county's first consolidated public school. With limited public funding and many grades (elementary and secondary) planned for one building, parents were afraid that their children would not get an adequate education.
Captain Franklin Sherman, in a letter to solicit Miss Charlotte Troughton as the school's first principal, wrote that the school "was planned more for our future needs than to present necessities." He claimed that it would "probably be one of the finest Rural District School Houses in the state." Unfortunately, Captain Sherman died during the first year of the school and did not live to see his prophecy fulfilled. After his death, the community named the school Franklin Sherman. The newly-formed School and Civic League met in the school and established McLean Day as a means of financially assisting the school and various other projects. In the early years, the proceeds supported community causes such as electric street lights and road improvements.