Alexandria City Public Schools will be returning to school on Monday, Aug. 24, and that means speed cameras will also be reactivated to enforce school zone speeding violations.
The City of Alexandria said enforcement of school zone speed cameras will begin on the first day of school following testing of the school zone flashers and camera systems on Aug. 21. The cameras will automatically issue tickets for speeding violations when school zone signs are flashing.
The start of the 2026-27 school year is just around the corner in Alexandria.
The first day back for most Alexandria City Public Schools students is Monday, Aug. 24. That’s not the case for students and staff at Samuel W. Tucker Elementary, which started on July 27. Still, below are some important dates to be aware of, as the school system gets back into the swing of things.
With a new principal at the helm, Alexandria City High School administrators will focus their efforts this school year on chronic absenteeism and implementing Virginia’s stricter ban against smartphones and other smart devices in schools.
On Wednesday morning (July 15), new principal Michael Burch told students, parents and administrators that he’s been sending out emails about the “bell-to-bell” phone ban signed into law by Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D).
The Alexandria City School Board on Thursday (July 9) unanimously elected new leadership for the next year.
Without opposition, School Board Member Christopher Harris was elected as chair, and Alexander Crider Scioscia was elected vice chair. Both are graduates of Alexandria City High School (when it was T.C. Williams High School), and the one-year appointments went into effect in the beginning of Thursday night’s meeting.
With the start of the school year around the corner, Alexandria City Public Schools is asking for donations of backpacks and school supplies.
For the second year in a row, the school system has set a goal of filling 3,500 backpacks in its annual backpack and school supply drive between now and Aug. 10.
As outgoing Alexandria City Public Schools Superintendent Melanie Kay-Wyatt takes an unexpected leave, the School Board has designated three administrators to handle her duties.
School Board Chair Michelle Rief announced in an email to ACPS families and staff that Kay-Wyatt is going on leave due “to a matter that arose unexpectedly.” On Tuesday night (June 23), the School Board appointed ACPS Chief of Staff Grace Taylor, Chief Accountability Officer Clinton Page and Chief Academic Officer Pierrette Finney as designees of the division superintendent.
Public safety leaders and their counterparts from around the region reaffirmed a commitment to mutual aid today (Thursday) at the Alexandria Police Department’s Public Safety Summit.
The three-hour event was held at Virginia Theological Seminary, and attended by Mayor Alyia Gaskins, Sheriff Sean Casey, Commonwealth’s Attorney Bryan Porter, City Manager Jim Parajon, Fire Chief Felipe Hernandez, Jr, as well as officials from Alexandria City Public Schools and other city departments. Speakers included Arlington County Police Chief Andy Penn, Prince William County Police Chief Peter Newsham, and Stanley Meador, the Virginia Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security.
After invalidating the officer elections for the local Alexandria teachers union, the Virginia Education Association has set a timeline for new elections that it will oversee later this month.
VEA President Carol Bauer informed Education Association of Alexandria (EAA) members of the new election timeline in an email on June 12. VEA’s decision to reject EAA’s union officer elections came after the elections were postponed from May 18 to May 21, and candidate for EAA president David Paladin-Fernandez was disqualified less than 12 hours before the elections.
Eleven residents at the Northern Virginia Juvenile Detention Center in Alexandria’s West End marked a significant milestone as they were presented with their high school diplomas today (Wednesday).
The graduation event was attended by family members, NVJDC residents and staff, as well as City Councilwoman Sandy Marks and Alexandria City School Board Chair Michelle Rief. The jail’s state-operated school is managed by Alexandria City Public Schools, which provides licensed staff to teach 10-to-18-year-old children brought in from across Alexandria, Arlington County and the city of Falls Church.
Alexandria City Public Schools will continue providing free meals to students this summer.
The school system is giving away free breakfast and lunch for children and teens 18 and under as part of its 2026 Summer Food Service Program. The program runs Mondays through Thursdays, from June 22 to July 16, at six schools across the city. School-age kids can get free meals at any of the sites and do not need to register in advance.
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.
