After the 2019 decision to maintain one high school, Alexandria City Public Schools is finally getting ready to send its expanded campus concept to the city for review.
Plans specifically for the current Minnie Howard campus are scheduled to go to the Planning Commission on Tuesday, Jan. 4:
Alexandria School Capacity The Focus Of Proposed Capital Budget — “The latest Capital Improvement Plan proposal includes funding for a newly acquired office building that will become a school.” [Patch]
The Happy Cat Hotel and Spa to open next weekend — “It’s time for dogs to move over, because there’s a new cat in town – or a cat hotel and spa, rather.” [Alexandria Living Magazine]
After recent infrastructure work, Alexandria City Public Schools confirmed that it’s satisfied with the conditions at Alexandria’s middle schools — for the time being.
In what one school official described as a pleasantly “boring” meeting between the City Council and School Board after recent City Council-School Board turmoil, school staff said some recently completed work at George Washington Middle School and Francis C. Hammond Middle School should be the last big investments in those schools for the foreseeable future.
Three incumbents and many newcomers were elected to the Alexandria School Board on Tuesday, including a few familiar faces returning to elected office.
School Board Chair Meagan Alderton won reelection in District C, and uncontested District C candidates Abdel-Rahman Elnoubi and Christopher Harris were also elected.
Election day in Alexandria — “Alexandria voters will decide local races for Mayor, City Council, School Board and more.” [Patch]
Deployed Dad makes surprise visit to ACPS — “Lt. Col Warren makes a surprise visit. Join in for this special moment!” [ACPS]
Ashley Simpson Baird says widespread unfinished learning within the Latino community is a result of the pandemic, and the District B candidate for the Alexandria School Board wants the city’s school system to refocus its attention to get kids back on the ball.
“We are still very much living in schooling in a pandemic, and so I would really like to see ACPS have a stronger plan for how we’re addressing unfinished learning,” Baird told ALXnow. “We need to make sure that we are giving school leaders and educators the resources to implement that plan.”
Alexandria City Public Schools is seeing a shortage of classroom monitors, bus monitors and substitute teachers.
Superintendent Gregory Hutchings, Jr. told the School Board last week that ACPS’ Human Resources Department is working to hire more, and that staffing levels were impacted by hybrid learning last year.
Metal detectors are not being considered at Alexandria City Public Schools.
After a rocky start to the school year with multiple students caught bringing weapons to Alexandria City High School, the issue has been publicly raised more than a few times in recent weeks.
Bridget Shea Westfall says she’s not a status quo kind of person. Westfall, the parent of a second grader at Naomi L. Brooks Elementary School, also calls her son her hero.
“My son was my hero during the pandemic, and he just had to do a lot of adult things,” Westfall told ALXnow, fighting back tears. “He had to be very resilient, brave and strong and use executive functioning skills that most adults haven’t mastered in their professional and personal lives. But my son said to me, ‘Mom, you should do it. You should. You should run.'”
Alexandria City High School rallied in the final moments to send their homecoming game into overtime Friday night, but it just wasn’t enough. The West Potomac Wolverines edged their way to a 22-21 win.
The evening included an unexpected appearance by world champion sprinters Noah and Josephus Lyles, who watched the game from the sidelines with ACHS Principal Peter Balas and Alexandria City Public Schools Superintendent Gregory Hutchings, Jr.
(Updated 9:40 a.m.) Alexandria City High School and the Minnie Howard Campuses are on lockdown and will have an asynchronus learning day.
According to the school’s website:
