Meridian High School (Virginia)
Meridian High School (MHS) (formerly George Mason High School) is a comprehensive public high school serving the independent City of Falls Church. Until January 2014, it was located in Idylwood, an unincorporated area of Falls Church, in Fairfax County, Virginia, adjacent to Falls Church City. As part of Fairfax Water's agreement to purchase the Falls Church Water System, the parcel with MHS was transferred to Falls Church City. The school serves some 850 students in grades 9-12. The school is the sole high school of the Falls Church City Public Schools system. In 1981 , the school became the first in Virginia to use the International Baccalaureate program. The school ranks gold in "US News and World Report"s Best High Schools Ranking for 2020; Meridian High School (formerly George Mason) ranks #16 among all schools in Virginia and #649 in the United States. A design for a new main building was unveiled in 2017 and construction began in 2019. The new LEED-certified building opened to students in 2021, and the original was demolished. In December 2020, the FCCPS School Board voted to rename George Mason High School and its counterpart Thomas Jefferson Elementary School  due to their namesakes' association with American slavery. After a period of deliberation and public comment, the school board selected Meridian High School as a replacement name. Demographics. Meridian High School's racial breakdown in the 2020-2021 class was 59% White (non-Hispanic), 6% Asian or Pacific Islander, 12% Hispanic, 4% Black, and 19% two or more races. For comparison, the demographics of the city are: 79.37% White, 3.38% Hispanics of any race, 6.5% Asian, 4.9% African American, 0.16% Native American, 0.0% Pacific Islander, 2.01% from other races, and 3.68% from two or more races. History. MHS was built  on the site of a single-room school house which burned down in 1857. After the fire, the land sat empty until Falls Church was founded as an independent city in 1948 when residents sought greater control over their local school system, which, at the time, was segregated by race. MHS, since its establishment in 1952, has become a hub of activity in the city for its facilities and athletic fields.