Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) data showed a decline in school safety incidents, but a notable uptick in fights/assaults.
The ACPS School Safety Data Review covers the first and second quarter of this 2024-2025 school year. Compared to the third and fourth quarters of last year incidents declined from 73 to 62, though that total still wasn’t as low as the first and second quarters from last school year at 57 incidents.
In the middle of an uproar over the planned elimination of Alexandria’s K-8 schools, a discussion at Alexandria’s City Council meeting last night (Tuesday) may have gotten the ball rolling for a new local middle school.
City Council member John Chapman asked, during a discussion of the Long-Range Planning Interdepartmental Work Program, whether the City could revisit Long Range Educational Facilities Plan — which spells out plans to improve facilities planning and accommodate the growing student population.
School was closed for “traditional snow days” in January, but this month students aren’t so lucky as classes go to “synchronous learning” tomorrow.
According to a message send out by Superintendent Melanie Kay-Wyatt, all schools will implement synchronous virtual learning for students while staff will participate in a virtual workday due to snow.
Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) Superintendent Melanie Kay-Wyatt made a small clarifying addendum to a message released last month about how the school division handles immigration concerns.
Last month, Kay-Wyatt sent a letter to community members saying all children have a right to attend ACPS schools regardless of the immigration status of the students or their families. Kay-Wyatt also noted, though, that ACPS “is obligated to comply with all lawful orders and warrants from any law enforcement entity, including ICE.”
Alexandria’s Planning Commission threw its voice behind criticisms that Alexandria City Public Schools dropped the ball on the recent K-8 and PreK-8 school conversions controversy.
The Planning Commission voted unanimously last week in support of a letter concerning the George Mason Elementary School Modernization project and the Pre-K-8 School Capacity Planning Project, both of which faced scrutiny for lapses in public engagement.
Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) Superintendent Melanie Kay-Wyatt announced that the schools will have a half-day so students and staff can return home before an anticipated winter storm.
In a message sent out at 5:25 p.m. today (Monday), Kay-Wyatt wrote that schools will dismiss around noon before the storm hits. It’s estimated Alexandria could see as much as 4-6 inches of snow.
Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) will have a two-hour delayed opening tomorrow (Thursday) morning on account of expected sleet and ice tonight and tomorrow morning.
All students will report two hours later than the regular opening time, though essential personnel are expected to arrive at the normal time “if it is safe to do so based on weather conditions” while non-essential personnel should report two hours later.
An Alexandria City High School student allegedly brandished a knife and injured a student in a fight on the school football field during a fire drill today (Jan. 29), according to a letter from the school’s principal to parents.
The Alexandria Police Department responded to the ACHS King Street campus at around 11:30 a.m. for report of a 14-year-old male student who was injured with a cut to his finger, according to dispatches.
Alexandria Mayor Alyia Gaskins says that recent immigration enforcement raids in nearby jurisdictions have resulted in “fear, confusion, and concern,” and that the city won’t assist federal investigators.
In a statement posted on the city website today, the Democrat mayor said that Alexandria will always be a welcoming community where “all residents are supported, respected, and valued.”
With President Donald Trump removing restrictions preventing Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from raiding schools, Alexandria Superintendent Melanie Kay-Wyatt laid out the ways Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) are protected from ICE but also exceptions families should be aware of.
The message comes after a full-throated rebuke of ICE activities at school to the fullest extent allowable by law by Fairfax County Public Schools leadership. Kay-Wyatt’s message similarly noted that the schools can help shield children to an extent, but reaffirmed that ACPS “is obligated to comply with all lawful orders and warrants from any law enforcement entity, including ICE.
Alexandria City Public Schools’ (ACPS) new proposed budget comes with a raise for school district employees and more security for the schools.
At a budget presentation last night, Superintendent Melanie Kay-Wyatt proposed a budget that’s a 4% increase over the current fiscal year’s budget. That increase includes a full-step increase for all eligible staff at the beginning of the contract year and an additional step increase to increase maximum pay, though ACPS staff on a Facebook page for school faculty noted that this doesn’t come with a cost of living adjustment.
