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ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Alexandria City Public Schools will officially dedicate the courtyard at the Early Childhood Center as "Owen's Place" at a naming ceremony Tuesday afternoon, formally marking a milestone years in the making for the school community.
The ceremony is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. at the Early Childhood Center, 5651 Rayburn Ave. Superintendent Dr. Melanie Kay-Wyatt, school board members and ECC Principal Heidi Haggerty-Wagner will be among those in attendance.
Owen Michael Wagner died in 2016 at age 19 from an undiagnosed heart condition. He was the son of Haggerty-Wagner, the ECC's founding principal, and was known for volunteering at the school and aspiring to become a teacher. Memorial funds established in his name helped create the outdoor learning space — featuring areas for dramatic play, STEM exploration and gardening — that has informally carried his name ever since.
The Alexandria City School Board voted in December 2025 to officially approve the naming following a community petition process that drew strong public support. The courtyard had already been known informally as Owen's Place since the ECC opened in 2018, but the petition — led by Cora Kelly School Principal Molly McCabe — sought to make it official.
"It is an honor to be here tonight to reaffirm our community's deep commitment to make this name official," McCabe said at the December public hearing. "If you visit ECC on any given day, you will see Owen's Place bursting with joyful hands-on learning that defines high-quality early childhood education."
"In a statement read on her behalf at the December hearing, Haggerty-Wagner thanked the community for the recognition. 'My family, friends and I are beyond grateful to ACPS and to our leadership for recommending that our naming project be approved,' she said."
Students, staff, families, community members, and ACPS leaders are expected to attend Tuesday's ceremony.
