Good Wednesday morning, Alexandria!
☀️ Today’s weather: Expect sunny skies and a high of 54 degrees today, accompanied by breezy conditions as southwest winds of 11-16 mph increase to 18-23 mph in the afternoon with gusts up to 46 mph. Tonight, enjoy mostly clear skies with a low of 30 degrees, as northwest winds of 7-13 mph shift to the southwest in the evening, with gusts as high as 31 mph.
🚨 You need to know
Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) Superintendent Melanie Kay-Wyatt was recently named Superintendent of the Year in Region Four — the region covering all of Northern Virginia and as far out as Orange and Shenandoah counties — by the Virginia Association of School Superintendents (VASS).
VASS noted Kay-Wyatt’s “her innovation in launching the Academies at Alexandria City High School (ACHS) and the Middle School Career and Technical Education (CTE) program” as part of her success at ACPS. as well as improvements to ACPS’ on-time graduation and dropout data.
“It is a privilege to be selected as the Region Four Superintendent of the Year,” said Dr. Kay-Wyatt. “This acknowledgment is a reflection of the hard work and dedication of our entire school community and I share it with all those who have joined me to be on our one team, one journey mission. I am grateful to lead such an exceptional group of educators and staff to work alongside families and community members who work everyday to ensure every student succeeds.”
Kay-Wyatt recently presented a budget that includes a pay increase for staff and hires additional security for schools. Kay-Wyatt also recently wrote about ways in which ACPS can and can not protect undocumented students from ICE.
That tenure hasn’t been without criticism: mainly ongoing security issues at Alexandria City High School, the botched rollout last year of the new Minnie Howard campus, and most recently the school division has faced criticism from the Jefferson-Houston community for a school conversion proposal they said lacked transparency.
Region Superintendents of the Year are honored and the Virginia Superintendent of the Year is announced at a conference in April.
“The Alexandria City School Board is proud to celebrate Dr. Kay-Wyatt for being named the Region Four Superintendent of the Year,” said Alexandria City School Board Chair Dr. Michelle Rief. “This honor reflects her unwavering commitment and dedication to our students, staff and Alexandria community. I wish her the best as she is considered for Virginia State Superintendent of the Year by VASS.”
📈 Tuesday’s most read
The following are the most-read ALXnow articles for Jan 28, 2025.
- Alexandria Superintendent spells out ways ACPS can and can’t protect students from ICE (2473 views)
- What could the return-to-office mandate mean for Alexandria? (1607 views)
- Notes: Old Town North Chinese restaurant displaced by development reopening tomorrow in Pentagon City (1506 views)
📅 Upcoming events
Here is what’s going on today in Alexandria, from our event calendar.
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