ACPS | ALXnow - Part 38

JUST IN: Principal at Alexandria City High School addresses in-school violence and re-socialization pressure

Published October 1, 2021 at 4:25PM | Updated October 1, 2021 at 5:06PM

Alexandria City High School Executive Principal Peter Balas says that violence within the school is being handled and students caught fighting are being dealt with on a case-by-case basis.

In a letter to the Alexandria City High School community on Friday (October 1), Balas said that many of his 4,370 students have been traumatized by the pandemic and social/political upheavals over the last couple of years. He also said that a recent shooting of a student at the McDonald’s at the Bradlee Shopping Center and the firecracker incident at a recent ACHS football game has added to a “heightened sensitivity” within the school.

News

BREAKING: A bunch of student fights were recorded at George Washington Middle School and put on Instagram

By James Cullum

Published October 1, 2021 at 1:00PM | Updated October 2, 2021 at 11:34AM

Update on 10/2/21 — The videos of the fights at the school have been removed from Instagram, and have since been removed from the story.

A number of recent student fights at George Washington Middle School have been posted on Instagram.

News

Last year’s Alexandria City High School class had the highest graduation rate and the lowest student dropout rate ever

By James Cullum

Published October 1, 2021 at 10:06AM | Updated October 1, 2021 at 10:45AM

The Alexandria City High School marquee (staff photo by James Cullum)

(Updated at 10:40 a.m. Alexandria City High School’s rates increased to their highest levels ever, not the highest in Virginia) Alexandria City High School has a lot more than just a new name to be proud of. This week, the school system announced that its recent graduating class saw the highest on-time graduation rate and the lowest student dropout rate in the school’s history.

“ACPS saw a nine-percentage point increase in the on-time graduation rate, from 82% in 2020 to 91% in 2021, and a nine-percentage point decrease in the overall student dropout rate, from 14% in 2020 to 5% in 2021,” ACPS reported. “The previous highest on-time graduation rate for ACPS was 86% in 2013 and the previous lowest dropout rate was 8% in 2019.”

News

Protestors rally to return police to Alexandria schools, but officials say behind-the-scenes talks have stalled

By Vernon Miles

Published September 29, 2021 at 10:00AM | Updated September 29, 2021 at 2:12PM

City Council member John Chapman speaks with protestors demanding the return of the SRO program (staff photo by Vernon Miles)

Weeks of tension and frustration over violence in Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) boiled over last night with a small crowd of parents shouting at City Council members to restore the school resource officer (SRO) program.

In May, the City Council voted 4-3 in favor of reallocating funding away from SROs, a program started in 1997 that installed police officers in Alexandria’s high school and two middle schools. While the schools have additional security staff, SROs were authorized make arrests and carry weapons — a fact that made headlines in 2018 when an SRO accidentally fired his gun inside George Washington Middle School.

News

ALXnow’s top stories this week in Alexandria

By James Cullum

Published September 24, 2021 at 3:35PM

Police outside the McDonalds where a shooting occurred, staff photo by James Cullum

What a busy week in Alexandria.

Our top story this week was on a juvenile who was shot outside the McDonald’s at the Bradlee Shopping Center on Tuesday, Sept. 21. There have also been a number of concerning incidents at Alexandria City Public Schools, including a juvenile who was arrested for trespassing and assault and battery at Alexandria City High School.

News

MacArthur Elementary shut down by water damage

By Vernon Miles

Published September 23, 2021 at 10:40AM | Updated September 23, 2021 at 12:10PM

Douglas MacArthur Elementary School at 4633 Taney Avenue (via Google Maps)

(Updated 12:10 p.m.) Douglas MacArthur Elementary School has been closed for today at least as crews work to clean water damage in the building.

The school, currently located in the former Patrick Henry facility on 4633 Taney Avenue, has been closed today from water damage and it’s currently unclear when the school will reopen.

News

Juvenile arrested for trespassing and assault and battery at Alexandria City High School

By James Cullum

Published September 23, 2021 at 9:35AM | Updated September 24, 2021 at 10:15AM

(Updated at 10:15 a.m. on Friday) A juvenile was arrested for assault and battery and trespassing at Alexandria City High School on Friday, September 10, according to the Alexandria Police Department.

“At ACHS this school year, there has been one incident where a juvenile was arrested for assault and battery and trespassing on September 10, 2021,” Alexandria Police said. “Due to the strict confidentiality of juvenile criminal justice records, we cannot provide further information to explain those charges or where the juvenile suspect or victim resides.”

News

School Board to vote on transgender revisions in Alexandria City Public Schools

By James Cullum

Published September 22, 2021 at 2:20PM

The Alexandria City High School marquee (staff photo by James Cullum)

The Alexandria School Board on Thursday (September 23) will vote Thursday on a number of policy and regulatory revisions on the treatment of transgender students.

Among the changes are proposals to not segregate extracurricular activities by gender and allowing students to dress according to their gender identity or gender expression. Student athletes would still, sometimes, be segregated.

News

Delivering meals, teaching kids to read and more volunteer opportunities in Alexandria

By James Cullum

Published September 22, 2021 at 11:00AM

If you’re looking to stay busy for a good cause, there are dozens of available volunteer opportunities in Alexandria.

Here’s Volunteer Alexandria’s list of new and upcoming opportunities.

Opinion

Interview: Port City Publius opens up about Alexandria

By James Cullum

Published September 21, 2021 at 3:30PM

For five years Port City Publius has let fly. The anonymous blogger won’t shy from criticizing the superintendent, or blasting “NIMBY” residents who favor changing the leadership of City Council.

Who is this writer? Is Port City Publius more than one person?

News

Morning Notes

By James Cullum

Published September 21, 2021 at 5:00AM

Lena’s Wood-Fired Pizza and Tap named in top 100 restaurants in U.S. — “Lena’s Wood-Fired Pizza and Tap, owned by the Yates family of Alexandria, was just placed on OpenTable’s list of the 100 Best Neighborhood Gems in America for 2021.”[Zebra]

Retiring City Manager talks to Agenda Alexandria — “Retiring #AlexandriaVA City Manager Mark Jinks talks about his career in @ArlingtonVA and @AlexandriaVAGov, including everything from redeveloping Landmark Mall to building the Potomac Yard @wmata station @agendalexandria #AgendaAlexandria” [Twitter]