After serving as the executive principal of Alexandria City High School for two years, on Thursday, Alexander Duncan III announced his departure, effective June 30.
Duncan said that he has accepted another role, and thanked staff in an email. Duncan was the ACHS Minnie Howard Campus administrator, and replaced ACHS Executive Principal Peter Balas after his departure in 2023. Duncan will start his new role as principal of Washington-Liberty High School in Arlington.
According to a letter sent by Duncan to ACPS staff Thursday:
Good Evening, ACHS Titan Staff,
I am writing to share with the Alexandria City High School (ACHS) Titan Staff that I will be moving on to the next phase of my career for the upcoming 2025-26 school year. It has been an absolute pleasure and privilege serving as your executive principal. I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity I have had to work alongside such a dedicated and passionate group of educators and support staff.
I have accepted a new role, which presents an exciting new chapter in my career. While I am looking forward to this new challenge, I will deeply miss the ACHS community and all that we have accomplished together.
In reflecting on my time at ACPS, I have contributed in several roles and impacted the lives of many students and staff. During my tenure in ACPS, I have served as an English teacher at ACHS, dean of students and academic principal at George Washington Middle School, academic principal and campus administrator at ACHS, and ultimately executive principal at ACHS.
One of my proudest accomplishments at Alexandria City High School (ACHS) was leading the successful launch of the Academies at Alexandria City—a transformative approach to secondary education that offers students personalized learning experiences through specialized academies aligned with their interests and career goals. During this time, ACHS was also recognized with the Virginia Department of Education’s (VDOE) Continuous Improvement Award for the 2024–25 school year, honoring the school’s sustained progress and notable gains in graduation outcomes over the past three years. In 2024, the on-time graduation rate reached 87 percent—the second-highest in the past decade—with improvements seen across nearly all student groups. This marked a four-percentage-point increase from 2023 and was achieved without the COVID-related provisions that boosted the 2021 rate. Dropout rates also declined by four percentage points, with the most significant reductions among English Learners (-9 points) and economically disadvantaged students (-10 points). These results reflect the collective effort and deep commitment of our team and the partnership with families and the school community, and I am confident that the team will continue to build on this momentum, in tandem with you, to ensure every Titan thrives.
I have full confidence that the ACHS Executive Administrative Team, in partnership with Central Office, will seamlessly lead the high school’s opening for the 2025-26 school year. They are well-prepared and committed to ensuring a smooth transition and a successful start to the new academic year.
Thank you for your hard work and unwavering commitment to students. I wish you all the very best in the future.
Best regards,
Alexander Duncan, III, Executive Principal
In the wake of Duncan’s resignation, City Council Member Abdel Elnoubi, a former School Board member, criticized ACPS Superintendent Melanie Kay-Wyatt.
“By my count, ACPS has lost at least a third of its principals on Kay-Wyatt’s watch,” Elnoubi said. “This level of turnover signals something fundamentally broken in ACPS’s central office and School Board leadership. This comes on the heels of a disastrous redistricting process and a flawed K-8 conversion decision. ACPS at a very low point if not its lowest, School Board and Central Office reform is badly needed.”
Kay-Wyatt announced that the interim executive principal is Lance Harrell, a longtime campus administrator at ACHS.
According to Kay-Wyatt:
Mr. Harrell has served the Alexandria City Public Schools community since 2014, beginning his career as an assistant principal at George Washington Middle School, and was named campus administrator at the Minnie Howard campus in 2023. He is an outstanding leader who brings a wealth of leadership experience with him as he transitions into this acting role to support ACHS.
I am pleased to share that Ms. Preeann Johnson, retired ACPS principal, has agreed to serve as the acting campus administrator at the ACHS – Minnie Howard campus. Ms. Johnson is not new to ACHS and will continue to support ongoing initiatives and maintain stability during this transition time. To further develop leadership capacity, these changes are designed to broaden our administrators’ leadership experience and foster professional growth. We recognize the importance of consistent leadership during this time and are taking steps to ensure support and continuity for students and staff by
our central office leaders.We will be working over the next couple of weeks to update the job description based on the needs related to the Academies at Alexandria City and to determine the appropriate process to identify the best candidate for this pivotal role. We have a commitment to post the job vacancy, in an effort to actively seek candidates with demonstrated success in high school leadership, a commitment to equity and innovation, and the capacity to inspire and manage the largest high school in Virginia.
I am committed to conducting a thorough and inclusive selection process that engages key stakeholders and ensures we find the right leader to champion student success and elevate our high school experience division-wide. We appreciate your support and commitment as we work through these transitions with a focus on strong leadership and student success. More details about the search process will be shared soon once they are solidified.
