Our History

History of Our School

Built in the early 2000s, Ernest Everett Just Middle School is located in Mitchellville, Maryland, and serves as a STEM-focused institution within Prince George’s County Public Schools. The school is named after Dr. Ernest Everett Just, a pioneering African-American biologist born in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1883. Dr. Just made groundbreaking contributions to cell biology, particularly in the areas of fertilization and early embryonic development. Despite the racial barriers of his time, he earned international recognition for his scientific research and was one of the first African Americans to receive a doctorate from the University of Chicago. Dr. Just was also a founding member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc. and spent much of his career at Howard University, where he mentored future generations of Black scientists. In naming the school after him, the county honors Dr. Just’s legacy of academic excellence, perseverance, and scientific innovation.