ACHS | ALXnow

Three ACPS naming ceremonies scheduled for September and October

Published August 20, 2026 at 2:45PM | Updated August 27, 2026 at 4:46PM

The Parker-Gray Stadium Field at Alexandria City High School King Street Campus (via ACPS)

Three Alexandria City Public Schools facilities that the School Board voted to rename will be dedicated in the next two months.

The Alexandria City School Board voted in December 2025 to name Keith Burns Field at Alexandria City High School’s Parker-Gray Memorial Stadium after a 1990 T.C. Williams High School graduate who had an NFL career. The athletic field complex at the high school’s Minnie Howard Campus will be named after the late Alexandria Mayor Kerry Donley, and a media center at Naomi L. Brooks Elementary School will be named after Jean Reid, who taught at various ACPS schools.

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Titans Robotics team members protest move to smaller space at Alexandria City High School

By James Cullum

Published June 19, 2026 at 3:45PM

ACHS rising senior Charlotte Ware asks the School Board for more space for Titan Robotics, April 11, 2026 (staff photo by James Cullum)

Members of Alexandria City High School’s award-winning Titan Robotics team are protesting a decision to move the team to a new, smaller dedicated classroom space at the King Street Campus.

Last September, the award-winning Titan Robotics team was informed they would have to divide their 4,000-square-foot space next to the school gym with a new carpentry program. The move took away an area the team used to test the robot they enter in regional and national competitions. Earlier this month, the team was told by an Alexandria City Public Schools facilities administrator that the carpentry program was expanding and that Titan Robotics would be moved to an unused 1,500-square-foot classroom on the ground floor of the King Street Campus.

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JUST IN: Michael Burch hired as principal of Alexandria City High School

By James Cullum

Published June 11, 2026 at 9:35PM | Updated June 12, 2026 at 8:38AM

Michael Burch, the incoming principal of Alexandria City High School (via ACPS)

Michael Burch, the ACHS lead administrator for operations and student support, has been hired as the next principal of Alexandria City High School.

Superintendent Melanie Kay-Wyatt made the announcement at tonight’s School Board meeting. With approximately 4,500 students and hundreds of staffers spread across four campuses, Burch will will lead the largest public high school in Virginia starting on July 1.

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PHOTOS: Nearly 1,000 Alexandria City High School seniors graduate at GMU’s EagleBank Arena

By James Cullum

Published June 8, 2026 at 12:15PM

The Alexandria City High School graduation at George Mason University’s EagleBank Arena, June 6, 2026 (staff photo by James Cullum)

One of Alexandria City High School’s largest graduating classes walked the stage at George Mason University’s EagleBank Arena to get their diplomas on Saturday (June 6).

Outgoing Superintendent Melanie Kay-Wyatt said that the 962 graduates are walking into an increasingly complex world.

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ACPS introduces finalists for Alexandria City High School principal position

By James Cullum

Published May 15, 2026 at 4:15PM

Alexandria City High School (staff photo by James Jarvis)

Two candidates for the open principal position at Alexandria City High School were introduced at an online meeting Thursday (May 14).

The candidates are Michael Burch, the ACHS lead administrator for operations and student support, and Anthony McWright, the executive principal at Denver School of the Arts and president of the Arts Schools Network. The meet-and-greet was moderated by former ACHS principal John Porter, who said Alexandria City Public Schools will conduct the final candidate interview next week before the finalist’s name goes to the School Board for consideration on May 28.

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Alexandria City High School graduation next month to use AI name-reading for second year

By James Cullum

Published May 12, 2026 at 3:45PM | Updated May 12, 2026 at 4:51PM

Proudly displaying a diploma at Alexandria City High School's graduation at George Mason University's EagleBank Arena, June 3, 2023 (staff photo by James Cullum)

Hundreds of Alexandria City High School seniors are set to graduate next month.

Graduation will be held the morning of Saturday, June 6, at George Mason University’s EagleBank Arena (4400 University Drive) in Fairfax. The processional begins at 8:45 a.m. and the ceremony lasts approximately two hours. This is the second consecutive year that Alexandria City Public Schools will use Tassel, an artificial intelligence company, to provide automated name-reading services.

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Va. education secretary, elected officials to make listening tour stop at ACHS

By James Cullum

Published April 7, 2026 at 3:45PM | Updated April 9, 2026 at 11:54AM

Inside the new Alexandria City High School's Minnie Howard Campus, May 29, 2024 (staff photo by James Cullum)

Virginia Secretary of Education Jeffery O. Smith will stop at Alexandria City High School’s Minnie Howard Campus (3775 W. Braddock Road) on Wednesday night (April 8) as part of a statewide listening tour organized by the Virginia Department of Education.

Smith will be joined by Virginia’s Superintendent of Public Instruction Jenna Conway, House of Delegates Majority Leader Del. Charniele Herring (D-4), Del. Alfonso Lopez (D-3), and Alexandria City School Board members. The event at 6 p.m. is a stop on the statewide Commonwealth Listening Tour: Speak Up for Virginia’s Future. Registration is available for families seeking to attend.

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ACHS teacher wins grant to create learning experiences on the Declaration of Independence

By James Cullum

Published February 18, 2026 at 2:20PM

Alexandria City High School math teacher Essie Jones (staff photo by James Cullum)

A teacher at Alexandria City High School has been awarded a $5,000 grant to create a project commemorating the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence this year.

ACHS math teacher Essie Jones is one of 51 educators nationwide to be selected for a Teaching America250 Award. The grant will allow her to “design and implement an engaging learning experience that helps students explore the history of America’s founding and the ideals of the Declaration of Independence,” according to Alexandria City Public Schools.

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JUST IN: Hundreds of ACHS students stage walkout against ICE

By James Cullum

Published February 6, 2026 at 4:20PM

Students participating in a walkout Feb. 6, 2026 (courtesy Rosemary Pereira-Kyle)

Around 250 to 300 students walked out of both campuses of Alexandria City High School today (Friday) to protest U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The student-led walkout lasted from around 2:15 to 2:45 p.m., according to ACPS. The event happened less than a month after hundreds of people gathered at Four Mile Run Park Plaza to protest ICE, after an officer fatally shot Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis.

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ACHS student journalists earn statewide awards as school board to review publication policy

By Katie Taranto

Published November 10, 2025 at 2:45PM

Theogony's 2024-2025 editorial board. Back row from left: Rozalia Finkelstein, James Libresco, Maxwell Jones-LaChance. Front row: Nadja Duss, Casey Donahue, Pablo Cruz Rivera, Julia Gwin and Max Carpenter (courtesy of Chloe Yokitis/Theogony)

It’s been a lively year for the student journalists of Alexandria City High School newspaper Theogony, who were recently named some of the best in the state.

Just months after Theogony staff made national headlines for their enterprising Voices Unbound campaign, the student newspaper was one of five in Virginia to win top-ranking “Trophy Class” honors from the Virginia High School League. Former co-editor James Libresco, who spearheaded the anti-censorship campaign, was also named Virginia’s Student Journalist of the Year.

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Fundraiser at Old Town bar to benefit Scholarship Fund of Alexandria

By James Cullum

Published October 16, 2025 at 3:30PM

Chadwicks at 203 Strand Street in Old Town (staff photo by James Cullum)

An annual Alexandria City High School alumni fundraiser at Chadwicks (203 Strand Street) on Oct. 22 (Wednesday) will benefit the Scholarship Fund of Alexandria, and will feature some special guests.

Starting at 6 p.m., former ACHS Executive Principal Pete Balas will act as bartender, along with current teachers Andrew Orzel and Matt Zahn. The event, which includes raffles, is a great way to reconnect with former classmates, according to the online event announcement.