The PTSA of Alexandria City High School has sent a letter to the School Board, conveying “serious concerns” that behavior from the school system’s central office is resulting in high turnover.
The June 16 letter follows the resignation of ACHS Executive Principal Alexander Duncan III, who announced his departure the day before the last day of school (June 12). The PTSA says that seven veteran principals have left the school system in the last two years, “two of whom left immediately after winning Principal of the Year accolades.”
“We strongly urge each School Board member to insist on accountability for the loss of so many key personnel when evaluating the Superintendent’s performance and find ways to reverse this trend going forward,” the letter says.
Kay-Wyatt was the head of ACPS human resources from 2021 to 2022, and was promoted to interim superintendent following the resignation of former Superintendent Gregory Hutchings, Jr., and formally got the job in May 2023.
ALXnow has reached out to ACPS and members of the School Board for comment.
The full letter is below.
Dear Chairman Rief, Vice Chair Booz and Members of the Alexandria City School Board,
We write to share serious concerns over a consistent pattern of failed retention in key positions at Alexandria City High School (ACHS) that undermines instructional success. While this letter is prompted by the loss this week of Executive Principal Alexander Duncan to Arlington Public Schools, our concerns are more broadly about an emerging pattern of behavior by Central Office that has resulted in high levels of turnover within Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) over the past two years. This includes the loss of seven veteran principals – two of whom left immediately after winning Principal of the Year accolades – as well as an alarming number of staff at the Chance for Change campus and a consistent outflow of science, long-term English Language Learner and Special Education teachers to Arlington and Fairfax. These losses directly impact student success, behavior, and morale and, in its entirety, undermines the goal of creating a safe, stable learning environment for all of our students, teachers, and staff.
Leading the largest high school in Virginia with 4700+ students and 500+ teachers and staff across four campuses is not an easy job, and the highly qualified people we hire to do so deserve our respect, support and deep appreciation. Yet ACPS is not retaining them. We are concerned not only by the loss of Principal Duncan, but by a pattern of indifference from Central Office that harms retention and recruitment at ACHS and across the division. As one City Councilman has noted, “this level of turnover signals something fundamentally broken in ACPS’s Central Office…reform is badly needed.”
The Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA) has heard from countless ACHS parents and teachers who are frustrated by yet another change in leadership and concerned about the growing conflict between ACHS and Central Office. A series of poorly conceived and implemented large-scale plans have complicated daily school operations without providing adequate support to our administrators. The simultaneous launch of the Academies and opening of the new Minnie Howard Campus resulted in multiple difficulties logistically and in loss of instructional time and staff. The solutions to those challenges occurred only because of the dedication and expertise of people on the ground, yet they were not acknowledged. Further, there is little concern for the deep relationships our school administrators build with students, teachers, and families and a refusal to grant the kind of autonomy these professionals need to do their jobs. It is no wonder that we have lost so many.
As one of our beloved ACHS teachers remarked about Principal Duncan’s departure, “it’s impossible to get any momentum in any direction. This constant instability impedes innovation and collaboration and makes long-term planning impossible” as teachers put plans on hold that would benefit student success to wait on what comes next. School administrators and staff must be empowered, not micromanaged. Students and teachers must feel valued and secure, a goal impossible to achieve with a constantly revolving door.
The Superintendent is directly responsible for hiring and retaining top school leadership. Per Alexandria School Board Policy, “Each Board Member is involved in assessing the Superintendent’s job performance on a continuing basis and by completing the formal evaluation instrument. Upon conclusion of the annual performance appraisal, the evaluation is reviewed with the Superintendent by the Board…” We strongly urge each School Board member to insist on accountability for the loss of so many key personnel when evaluating the Superintendent’s performance and find ways to reverse this trend going forward.
We also urge you to reflect on your role as a School Board in fostering a tone of support for our school principals, teachers and staff. What will you do to create the kind of community that leaders don’t want to leave, that provides continuity for our students, and makes service within ACPS the pinnacle of a career rather than a stepping stone to other opportunities? The PTSA is grateful every day for the creativity, dedication, and empathy of our principals, teachers, and staff. Our community needs to see the value of our leaders powerfully reflected in the actions, choices, and communications from Central Office, the Superintendent, and the School Board. We should be asking not what other divisions are doing to steal our best and brightest, but rather what we are NOT doing to keep them here.
While we will do our best to support Interim Executive Principal Lance Harrell in the enormous task before him, we implore you to use your oversight of Central Office to steer ACPS toward a more collaborative, stable, and supportive environment for Principal Duncan’s permanent replacement and for all community stakeholders at Alexandria City High School. Our teachers, students and staff deserve nothing less.
Sincerely,
The Alexandria City High School PTSA Board 2025-2026
