World War II was at its peak when Charles Barrett Elementary School first opened 80 years ago. In recognition of the anniversary, on Wednesday students and school officials gathered in front of the school, planted a baby oak tree and sang the school song.
The tree was donated by the North Ridge Citizens’ Association.
Alexandria City High School senior Mohommed Abir Rhaman was shocked when he was notified last month that he got a perfect score on the Advanced Placement U.S. History Exam.
The notoriously grueling exam takes more than three hours to finish, and Rhaman is one of 13 students in the world who aced it this year, according to Alexandria City Public Schools.
Alexandria City High School seniors with a 3.25 cumulative grade point average or higher are now eligible for automatic admission to George Mason University.
The deal for the pilot program between Alexandria City Public Schools and GMU was struck earlier this month, and 428 ACHS seniors have since been informed that they have earned a guaranteed admission to the university. The agreement expires in August 2026.
Alexandria parents are up in arms over a staffing crisis within Alexandria City Public Schools.
Kelly Organek says that her ninth-grade son at Alexandria City High School’s Minnie Howard campus hasn’t had a geometry teacher since school started in August and that he only recently got a new biology teacher.
(Updated at 1:45 p.m. on Oct. 12) Alexandria City Public Schools has aligned with Virginia law in its stance against marijuana.
Students who possess, use or distribute marijuana within 1,000 feet of an ACPS school, bus stop or bus can now be expelled, according to policy revisions reviewed last week by the School Board. Marijuana was not previously listed as a banned substance.
There’s a new man in charge of guiding school leadership in Alexandria City Public Schools.
The new acting executive director of school leadership is Rene Paschal, formerly acting executive director of human resources since October 2022.
(Updated at 2:55 p.m.) A School Board work session on restructuring the makeup of the Board stopped short late last night after one member, Willie Bailey, walked out of the meeting.
Board Members were hammering out whether to expand terms from three to four years, stagger elections and switch from districts to at-large elections. The work session was held after a two-hour Board meeting and ended after 11 p.m. because the Board no longer had an in-person quorum after Bailey left.
A new partnership launching next month should help Alexandria students have better access to mental health services, including free access to therapists.
Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) is partnering with Hazel Health, a school-based telehealth provider, to offer students telehealth access to psychologists, counselors, nurses and social workers. Part of the partnership involves access to therapists with no out-of-pock costs to families.
Alexandria City Public Schools saw a 26% increase in student arrests last school year, and a disproportionate number of arrested students are Black males.
There were 58 ACPS students arrested last school year, according to a school safety report to be presented to the School Board on Thursday. There were also 32 weapons-related incidents, 100 students injured, 112 fights/assaults and five reports of sexual misconduct.
Updated at 5:45 p.m. — There is a slight surge of Covid cases in Alexandria, however a notification that a Halloween-themed event at a city recreation center this weekend was unfounded, according to the City.
On Tuesday, an Evite was sent to reporters announcing a Halloween festival at the Leonard “Chick” Armstrong Community Center, but on Wednesday another email was sent announcing that the event was canceled.
With the new school year underway, teachers in Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) are crowdfunding everything from iPads to basic teaching supplies.
Non-profit organization DonorsChoose gives teachers in ACPS a platform to discuss their specific material needs. One teacher led an effort to help students make better social media content, but many of the requests are for basic needs like whiteboards and construction paper.
