During its regular meeting Thursday (April 3), the Alexandria City School Board received presentations on the division’s draft strategic plan for 2025-2030 and updates on the ongoing redistricting process.
The meeting began with a recognition of five Alexandria City High School students who received prestigious Posse Foundation and QuestBridge scholarships. Delegate Alfonso Lopez presented proclamations from the Virginia General Assembly honoring the students.
“The fact that Alexandria City Public Schools have five students who’ve been recognized says so much about this school system,” Lopez said. “These are programs and scholarships that provide a leg up to some of our most gifted students.”
Superintendent Dr. Melanie Kay Wyatt shared updates on various initiatives, including Operation Warm’s donation of sneakers to students at the Early Childhood Center and Cora Kelly School for Math, Science and Technology.
Dr. Wyatt also announced the upcoming redistricting community meeting, which will be held on April 22 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Alexandria City High School. Residents can attend in person or via Zoom.
Strategic Plan Presentation
Dr. Clinton Page, Chief Accountability Officer, presented the draft strategic plan for 2025-2030, which was developed with input from a diverse committee of stakeholders including students, staff, and families.
“This is not our work,” Page emphasized. “This is the work of a broader committee and groups of individuals who we have engaged over the course of the past year.”
The plan focuses on five key goals: creating a safe, caring, and inclusive school environment; engaging and challenging every student every day; recruiting, retaining, and developing a strong team; cultivating trust with the community; and preparing each student for life after high school.
“We wanted to remain centered on equity in the core and making sure that as we think about this plan, we’re keeping students at the center of everything that we’re doing,” Page said.
The plan also emphasizes the importance of culture alongside strategy, with Page noting, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.”
Corey Gordon, a consultant from DeliverEd supporting the strategic planning process, explained how community feedback shaped the plan, including moving the safe, caring, and inclusive school environment goal to the top of the plan.
“We heard that so loudly from our partners and colleagues,” Gordon said. “We all know that students need to feel safe and cared for in order to learn.”
The draft plan includes specific metrics to measure success, such as reducing absenteeism, increasing the percentage of students feeling safe in schools, and improving graduation rates with credentials that prepare students for post-secondary success.
The School Board will hold a public hearing on the strategic plan on April 21, and the final adoption is scheduled for May 8.
Redistricting Update
Dr. Marcia Jackson provided an update on the ongoing redistricting process, which aims to address capacity imbalances across the division’s schools.
“We have had several meetings since our last update, and we want to update you on the community feedback and talk about the schedule for policy work,” Jackson said.
Isaac Johnson, a demographer with MGT Consulting, presented five boundary scenarios currently under consideration. The plans aim to address overcrowding at several west end schools, including Patrick Henry, Samuel Tucker, and James K. Polk.
“We have a corridor that is near the landmark mall property that is very, very highly dense,” Johnson explained. “There are almost a thousand students that are right through this narrow corridor, and it makes it challenging to balance your utilization and capacity issues.”
Johnson emphasized that the process is data-driven and iterative, with each scenario having different impacts on the guiding principles established by the board, such as maintaining neighborhood schools, minimizing bus dependency, and ensuring demographic alignment.
“Some plans will be more effective at keeping neighborhood schools together, but it may come at the expense of demographic alignment,” Johnson said. “There’s a give and take and a push and a pull that takes place.”
The redistricting process includes additional community engagement opportunities, with a new interactive tool being developed to allow residents to see how different scenarios would affect their school assignment.
Board member Dr. Donna Kenley emphasized the importance of community input in the process.
“The community should inform statistics,” Kenley said. “The community is a very important part in this analysis, and we have to make sure that the community feels and believes that it is a very integral part of this process.”
The School Board is scheduled to make a final decision on redistricting on June 12.
Other Business
The board also received a legislative update from Lauren Gilbert of Advantus Strategies on the 2025 General Assembly session, which included information on education funding, assessment changes, and solar hookup costs.
Gilbert highlighted the passage of Senator Ebbin’s bill to help upgrade the cost-sharing program for solar hookups, which is expected to be signed by the governor and go into effect on July 1.
The board approved several consent calendar items, including three renaming petitions that will begin the facilities naming process for the Early Childhood Center courtyard, Naomi Brooks Media Center, and the field at Parker Grey Stadium.
Board Chair Dr. Michelle Rief noted that the City Council’s add-delete deadline for the budget is approaching, with sessions scheduled for April 22 and 28.
“I wanted to thank all of my colleagues up here. I know that you all have been advocating with your liaisons,” Rief said. “We see what you’re doing, and we want you to know that we really appreciate you, and we are really advocating for our school system to have the resources we need.”
The next School Board meeting is scheduled for April 24.
