Educators

1880 - 1961

Nellie May Quander was a life-long advocate for civil rights, women’s rights, social reform,  and education. 

While continuing to work as a public school teacher, Nellie Quander enrolled at Howard University in 1910 at the age of 30. She joined the newly formed Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.  She helped incorporate the sorority so that it could be nationally recognized and have chapters at other universities and served as president. She graduated magna cum laude with a BA in history, economics, and political science. She went on to earn a Masters at Columbia University, Washington D.C. extension. She also earned a social work degree from New York University and a diploma from University of Uppsala, Sweden. She was an active board member of the YWCA and devoted her life to helping her community. 

1930 - 2019

Nellie Brooks Quander, a Parker-Gray alumna, was appointed to several public school administrator positions including the assistant principal at Cora Kelly and Jefferson Houston Elementary Schools and Assistant to the Fairfax County Schools Superintendent as an Area Coordinator. Nellie Brooks Quander was elected President of the National Association of Elementary School Principals and appointed to the Virginia State Board of Community College Governors.  In 2016, Nellie Brooks Quander served as the Grand Marshall leading the Scottish Christmas Walk Parade in Alexandria, VA and was inducted into the Alexandria, VA African American Hall of Fame.

1934 - 2020

 On April 8, 2021, the Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) Board voted in favor of the new name Naomi L. Brooks Elementary School to replace Matthew Maury Elementary School. The new name took effect July 1, 2021.

Naomi Lewis Brooks was born on April 14, 1934, the oldest of the five children of James and Eunice Quander Lewis. As a member of the Quander and Lewis families, Brooks’ roots are woven into the educational, spiritual, and social fabric of Alexandria’s rich history.

 Her formal education began at the Seminary School for Colored Children, followed by Lyles-Crouch Elementary School and Parker-Gray High School (PGHS). Naomi graduated second in her class from the segregated all-Black PGHS in 1951.  After high school, she earned her Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from Virginia State College (now Virginia State University), charting her course as an educator. Following graduation from college in 1955, she began her first year of teaching at Charles Houston Elementary School in Alexandria.   On Dec. 24, 1955, Naomi married her college sweetheart, U.S. Army Second Lieutenant Leo A. Brooks, who also has deep familial roots in Alexandria. Their journey together endured nearly 65 years.

When military orders moved the family from Alaska to Central State College in Ohio, Naomi continued educating others as a remedial reading clinician in the English Department.  She took graduate courses at Morgan State University, Sacramento State University and completed her master's degree at Virginia State University (VSU). Earning an M.E. in Elementary Education from VSU was just the next step in her lifelong love of learning and teaching. At VSU, Naomi was a proud member of the International Reading Association and Kappa Delta Pi Professional Education Sorority.

In 1967 when the family was back in Alexandria, Naomi joyfully went back to ACPS where she taught fifth grade at Cora Kelly Elementary School, followed by three years at Lynbrook Elementary School in Fairfax County. In all, her elementary and adult teaching career spanned 25 years.  Her motto, "Bloom where ye are planted, and God will transplant you to greater things."  

Naomi is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.