Students and staff at Charles Barrett Elementary School celebrated the school’s 80th anniversary with the planting of a willow oak tree donated by the North Ridge Citizens' Association's Tree Canopy Program.

“We are celebrating the 80th anniversary of our school’s history by planting a willow tree donated by North Ridge Citizens Association,” said Charles Barrett principal Loren Brody. “We are planting seeds for a bright future together and also recognizing all the people in our school community who have contributed so much to our school to make it the loving, caring place that it is.”

In addition to Brody, the Oct. 25 ceremony featured Charles Barrett Assistant principal Marcella Ahern, Alexandria City Public Schools Superintendent Melanie Kay-Wyatt, School Board Member Ashley Simpson Baird and members of the Charles Barrett PTA, including President Carrie Lewis.

The school’s Fifth Grade Student Ambassadors and Premier Panda and Growing Stronger Award Recipients from all grade levels were also featured in the celebration.

The elementary school, home to 550 students and 90 staff members, is named after Major General Charles Dodson Barrett of the U.S. Marine Corps, an Alexandrian who was killed in the South Pacific on Oct. 8, 1943. The original school was built in 1943 as a temporary prefab followed by a red brick building in 1949.