ALXnow has received the following Letter to the Editor from Ruth H. Leiva, a Landmark area resident and parent at Patrick Henry K-8 School. She writes to express deep concerns, shared by other families, teachers, and staff, regarding the ongoing Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) redistricting process and its potential impact on their West End community.
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Letter to the Editor
George Washington once said, “Few men have the virtue to withstand the highest bidder.” In a world that chases wealth, status, and power, those words hit hard. I disagree with my fellow West End neighbor’s recent letter and say that -the influence of money and status- is the greatest threat to our children. When a letter from a parent living in an affluent neighborhood can sway redistricting maps and months of RAC meetings, we have a serious problem.
Patrick Henry K-8 School, and Polk Elementary parents along with teachers and staff, have attended ACPS School Board meetings at least 25 times last school year, and at least 22 times during the current school year to urge action to address our dangerously high classroom sizes and to advocate for the resources needed to support 1,100 students. Many who are English learners and students with disabilities. Our repeated requests for smaller classrooms and more support have been met with “wait and be patient.”
We’ve waited for reasonable class sizes since 2022—when some classrooms had 30+ students. ACPS told us redistricting was the solution, and it was right around the corner. Again – we were told to be patient.
We waited nearly 9 years for a long-overdue school field since 2016 – something afforded nearly every other ACPS school. It was finally completed this year, after years of being told to be patient.
We raised the alarm about the need for more teachers in 2023, only to start the 2024 school year missing third-grade teachers. Each time, the answer was the same: Wait, be patient.
Now, the proposed redistricting map isolates schools like Patrick Henry by stripping away relatively higher-income, predominantly white areas that once contributed to its diversity. The first set of maps tried to balance it with a part of Cameron Station, those maps were swiftly scrapped after the letter to the editor was published. Instead Samuel Tucker’s redistricting footprint has gotten smaller on ALL maps. A study area containing an affordable housing high rise, The Brent Place, was removed and moved instead to Patrick Henry’s district. What’s left for us is a concentrated population of lower-income and minority families—without any indication ACPS will assure the resources or balanced integration we’ve spent years working to protect. Redistricting should not leave schools like ours more vulnerable and with no connected community that other schools in the district are being offered. It should build stronger, more equitable and coherent and connected communities—not schools segregated by race and socioeconomic status.
Even more troubling is that the demographic data presented inaccurately reflects Patrick Henry’s current student population by overestimating our White and Black population, and understating our Hispanic population, among other errors. How can you honor the goal of demographic balance when the data presented is absolutely incorrect?
I am the mom of a 9-year old at Patrick Henry K-8, and live in the Landmark area, where many of us are immigrants, small business owners, and renters trying to thrive in a city with rising costs. We are also voters and active members of our community. We’ve spoken up for years, and we’ve waited long enough. It shouldn’t take a letter to the editor to be heard. ACPS must act and do right by Patrick Henry!
Ruth H. Leiva, Alexandria
