A section of King Street between Quincy Street and Kenwood Avenue is currently closed due to a transformer fire.
The incident is close to Alexandria City High School (ACHS) and Chinquapin Park Recreation Center. It has closed ACHS for the day and impacted the recreation center’s hours of operation.
Alexandria Police Department and Dominion Energy are on the scene. In a press release, the city shares that Dominion does not anticipate completing its work before noon today. As a result, Chinquapin Park Recreation Center is without power and will be delayed in opening today. The city shares that the center will open after Dominion’s work is complete — expected to be around 1 p.m. Chinquapin Pool will be closed for the rest of the day and will reopen at 8 a.m. on Saturday.
The following message was shared with students, staff and families at Alexandria City High School:
Dear Alexandria City High School Students, Staff and Families,
Alexandria City High School (ACHS) King Street and Minnie Howard Campuses will be closed for in-person learning on Friday, March 21, 2025 due to a power outage caused by a transformer fire. At this time, we have been told that the restoration of power is not expected until later today. As a result, both campuses will shift to synchronous virtual learning for students. ACHS King Street and Minnie Howard staff will participate in a virtual workday, dependent on work assignments and locations. The ACHS administrative team will confirm with staff about the work expectations.
Class times will include synchronous instruction via Zoom, which means live virtual instruction with teachers, as well as independent work. Teachers will also provide virtual office hours. Please check your student’s Canvas or Clever account no later than 8 a.m. for specifics about your child’s schedule.
High school students should have their computers or learning devices at home with them. Attendance will be taken through logging into Clever and Canvas. No new content will be taught and grades should not be assigned on virtual learning days.
All essential personnel, including building engineers, custodians, maintenance shop employees and security staff must still report if safe to do so. Please contact your direct supervisor for reporting instructions.
Meal Distribution Information
The ACPS Office of School Nutrition Services will provide lunch meals to all King Street and Minnie Howard Campus students without charge at the Alexandria City High School Minnie Howard Campus. Please view the meal distribution location and times below.
Alexandria City High School – Minnie Howard Campus
3775 West Braddock Road, Door #32
Alexandria, Virginia 22302
11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Synchronous Virtual Learning Information
Please see information below about synchronous virtual learning (via Zoom):
Secondary School Synchronous Virtual Instruction for High School
Synchronous virtual instruction will incorporate live instruction with teachers as well as time for independent work.
- Each school will follow their daily bell schedule, which includes four blocks per day. Students should access their teachers Canvas page for the daily schedule.
- The lunch time will remain the same.
- The instructional model during the instructional block will consist of 45 minutes of synchronous whole group instruction with the teacher.
- After whole group instruction, students transition into asynchronous independent work for the remainder of the learning block.
- Students may access the Zoom link for synchronous instruction and office hours from each teacher’s Canvas page.
- The services for students with disabilities will be met in accordance with their individualized education plan (IEP) requirements in a virtual setting. Additionally, direct services for English learner (EL) students in a virtual setting will be provided by EL teachers in the general education classroom or in an English language development course.
Additional Information
Please visit the ACHS website for the most up-to-date information.
If you are impacted by the power outage or to check its status, visit dominionenergy.com/outages or call 866-366-4357.
This story is breaking and will be updated as more information is made available.
