Both of Alexandria’s middle schools and its two K-8 schools are overcrowded or approaching capacity, and facing an uptick in enrollment the School Board will soon consider seven models to ease the strain.
On Thursday night, the board will receive a comparative analysis assessing “grade-level reconfigurations” at Patrick Henry K-8 School (4643 Taney Avenue) and Jefferson-Houston PreK-8 IB School (1501 Cameron Street).
Recommendations include fully transitioning one-or-both schools to be kindergarten-to-fifth grade institutions, turning a building used as swing space at 1703 N. Beauregard Street into a new middle school, building a new elementary school and more.
Patrick Henry is over its 900-student capacity with 1,058 students. The school transitioned from a kindergarten-to-fifth grade model to K-8 when the renovated school reopened in 2019. The move also meant that, along with Jefferson-Houston, there was a second K-8 school within Alexandria City Public Schools.
Jefferson-Houston currently has 637 students and has an 800-student capacity, according to ACPS.
The city’s two middle schools are also at-or-nearing capacity. George Washington Middle School (1005 Mount Vernon Avenue) has exceeded its 1,438 student capacity with 1,530 students currently enrolled, according to ACPS. Francis C. Hammond Middle School (4646 Seminary Road) can hold 1,511 students, and currently has 1,413 enrolled students.
The seven models are below:
- Model 1: Both Patrick Henry (PH) and Jefferson-Houston (JH) remain PreK/K-8 schools, with improvements made to the current structures and programs
- Model 2: PH and JH become K-5 schools, with 6-8 students moved to George Washington or Francis C. Hammond middle schools
- Model 3: PH and JH become K-5 schools, with a new middle school opened at 1703 Beauregard Street
- Model 4: PH and JH transition to middle schools, and their K-5 students are reassigned to other existing K-5 schools
- Model 5: One school becomes a 6-8 middle school, and the other becomes a K-5 elementary school
- Model 6: PH and JH remain PreK/K-8s, an additional school is identified to become a K-8 school, 1703 Beauregard St. becomes a new middle school
- Model 7: PH and JH remain PreK/K-8s, an additional school is identified to become a K-8 school, a new middle school is proposed/constructed, and 1703 Beauregard St. becomes available to expand K-5 capacity
The analysis did not include impacts on students, their families, staff, and whether staff reassignments would affect the Title 1 status at Jefferson-Houston, Patrick Henry, Hammond and a number of elementary schools.
“Specific families impacted by reassignment are not yet identified,” ACPS staff said in a presentation to the School Board. “Analysis of transportation options, home proximity, and parent engagement cannot be completed without identifying affected families.”
In April, ACPS Chief Academic Officer Pierrette Finney said that the report must identify a number of impacts on the school system.
“The impact would be related to the amount of staff impacted, the operating costs, capital cost, time and implementation costs will be detailed in the analysis,” Finney said. “Then the School Board will make a decision based on the recommendations in the fall of 2024. The decision making is at their discretion, and so from 2025 to 2026 or beyond, based on their recommendation, that’s when the recommendations would be implemented.”
But many unknown impacts have been listed as “undetermined factors” in the analysis, which was compiled by Learner-Centered Collaborative in partnership with Left Bank Consulting, Eric Hall & Associates, and Socol Moran Partners.
The analysis lists these undetermined factors:
- Uncertainty about the number of staff required due to variables like student enrollment, attrition, licensure, and staffing ratios
- The impact on Special Education and EL teachers is unclear until new attendance zones are established through the School Board redistricting process
- Potential changes in Title I funding due to shifts in demographics and student distribution is not yet predictable
- Actual Increases in salary or other staffing costs are not yet estimated
The School Board is expected to receive an additional update from staff on the matter on Oct. 10 (Thursday), according to an ACPS presentation.
There were 16,071 students in ACPS in the 2023-2024 school year, a 4% increase over the 15,477 students in the 2022-2023 school year, according to enrollment data. The number of students is expected to decline over the next decade, but peak in fiscal year 2028.
