ACPS | ALXnow - Part 60

Morning Notes

Published July 6, 2020 at 9:00AM

Former ACPS Chief Executive Officer Decries School System Leadership — “Some ACPS leadership and staff recognized a downward shift in my influence about a year ago. I remained focused. Then, this past December, after a disagreement about how to de-escalate transportation employee complaints, my position of chief operating officer, among other positions, was eliminated by the school board as part of what came off as a hastily generated restructuring plan by Superintendent Dr. Gregory C. Hutchings Jr., Ed.D.” [Alex Times]

City Buys 10K Face Masks for Local Nonprofits — “This week, Griffin, Jenelle, and Caroline helped bag some of the 10,000 masks purchased by the City of Alexandria for distribution to local nonprofits!” [Facebook]

News

Free Food Update: No ACPS Food Distribution This Weekend

By James Cullum

Published July 2, 2020 at 3:15PM | Updated July 2, 2020 at 4:20PM

Packed lunches at T.C. Williams High School (now Alexandria City High School), March 16, 2020. (staff photo by James Cullum)

Free food distributions will be disrupted by the July 4 weekend in Alexandria, but food is still available.

Most notably there will not be any Alexandria City Public Schools distributions from Friday, July 3, until operations resume on Monday, July 6.

News

Advocates Want Accelerated T.C. Williams High School Renaming Process

By James Cullum

Published June 29, 2020 at 2:10PM | Updated June 30, 2020 at 10:24AM

Alexandria African American activists and leaders virtually came out in force on Sunday to demand that T.C. Williams High School be renamed.

“When I first learned that the high school that I graduated from was named after a segregationist and a racist, I was appalled,” said Lindsey Woodson Vick, a T.C. grad, who organized and led Zoom chat with advocates for changing the school name. “We owe better to the people who came before us and the people who will come after us.”

News

Alexandria Weekend Discussion

By James Cullum

Published June 26, 2020 at 5:15PM

It was a busy week in Alexandria, and there is plenty to talk about.

The city is moving forward with phase three of reopening its economy on July 1, and the news comes as the death toll from the coronavirus moved up to 50 and the number of cases steadily rise.

News

School Board to Address T.C. Renaming This Fall

By James Cullum

Published June 24, 2020 at 10:20AM

The Alexandria School Board has received a petition from the community, and the topic of renaming T.C. Williams High School will be addressed this fall, according to Board Chair Cindy Anderson.

The school system will also be looking at the names of all of its facilities, however no future date has been set in stone as ACPS is focusing on its reopening plan, Anderson said.

News

Students Likely to Rotate School Attendance When ACPS Reopens

By James Cullum

Published June 23, 2020 at 2:00PM | Updated June 24, 2020 at 12:00PM

One thing is clear: Alexandria City Public Schools won’t be the same if they reopen this fall, according to School Board Chair Cindy Anderson.

On Friday, the board will receive information on the school system’s reopening planning after shutting down in-person learning completely in March. Since that time, everything has been online, including classes, parent/teacher conferences and school board meetings. The plan itself is still in development.

News

ACPS Opens Three Playgrounds to Public, No Timeline on the Rest

By James Cullum

Published June 22, 2020 at 4:30PM

With summer officially in full swing, Alexandria City Public Schools is working to reopen its playgrounds to the public.

On Monday, the playgrounds at Patrick Henry Elementary School, Samuel W. Tucker Elementary School and Jefferson Houston School reopened, according to an email that was sent to parents.

News

Morning Notes

By James Cullum

Published June 17, 2020 at 9:00AM

Waterfront Park along the Potomac River in Alexandria, with National Harbor and the Woodrow Wilson Bridge in the background (staff photo by James Cullum)

Beyer Criticizes Pence Over Second Wave Comments — “Over 116,000 Americans have died. Over 2,000,000 have gotten sick. The person appointed by the President to lead the response (you) flout basic safety precautions recommended by the CDC to prevent spread of the virus as more people get sick.” [Twitter]

Alexandria DMV Opening June 22 by Appointment Only — “The validity of driver’s licenses and identification cards expiring on or before July 31, 2020, is extended for 90 days, not to exceed August 31, 2020. This means that a customer whose credential expired between March 15 and May 31 will have 90 days beyond the expiration date to renew, and credentials with an expiration date from June 1 to July 31 must be renewed no later than August 31, 2020. Vehicle registrations that expire in March, April, and May are extended for 90 days; those expiring in June are extended for 60 days; and those expiring in July are extended for 30 days. In addition, the federal enforcement date for REAL IDs was moved to October 1, 2021.” [DMV]

News

School Renaming Movement Grows Beyond T.C. Williams

By James Cullum

Published June 16, 2020 at 10:25AM | Updated June 24, 2020 at 10:37AM

(Updated at 10:30 a.m. on June 24. A previous version of the story said that Maury was a slave owner.)

A new effort is underway to rename Matthew Maury Elementary School in Alexandria.

News

T.C. Williams High School Seniors Graduate Virtually Amid Pandemic

By James Cullum

Published June 15, 2020 at 10:25AM | Updated June 15, 2020 at 11:25AM

Amiya Chisolm, president of the T.C. Williams High School class of 2020 at her graduation ceremony. (Image via ACPS)

T.C. Williams High School held a graduation ceremony like no other on Saturday, with world champion sprinter Noah Lyles, members of the student body, the superintendent and principal — while most of the school’s 865 graduates never left the comfort of their homes.

The virtual ceremony was the first of its kind in the history of the Alexandria City Public School system, as all schools throughout Virginia were shut down in March for the remainder of a school year that would also be defined by the state of race relations in the country. The graduating class of 2020 was also the largest in T.C. history, according to ACPS.

News

Morning Notes

By James Cullum

Published June 12, 2020 at 9:00AM

Alexandria Enters Phase 2 of Reopening Economy — “Under phase two, the maximum number of people allowed to gather increases from 10 to 50. Restaurants can open indoor dining at 50 percent capacity, and fitness centers can open at 30 percent capacity.” [Alex Times]

Del. Herring Supports Criminal Justice Reform — “As legislators there is a lot of work ahead of ahead of us. This piece was originally published in 2018 & updated. From policing to solitary confinement this is worth reading & then acting.” [Twitter]