News

Two Alexandria City High School seniors got a surprise today (Friday) when they were awarded $40,000 Amazon Future Engineers scholarships.

Seniors Zhi McMillan and Mohammad Elyas Noorzai received the scholarships as well as internship opportunities with the multinational technology company. The awards were presented by 2022 scholarship recipient Sai Naraharisetti, who will start work as an Amazon software engineer in Seattle after graduating next year.


News

Virginia Secretary of Education Jeffery O. Smith will stop at Alexandria City High School’s Minnie Howard Campus (3775 W. Braddock Road) on Wednesday night (April 8) as part of a statewide listening tour organized by the Virginia Department of Education.

Smith will be joined by Virginia’s Superintendent of Public Instruction Jenna Conway, House of Delegates Majority Leader Del. Charniele Herring (D-4), Del. Alfonso Lopez (D-3), and Alexandria City School Board members. The event at 6 p.m. is a stop on the statewide Commonwealth Listening Tour: Speak Up for Virginia’s Future. Registration is available for families seeking to attend.


News

Alexandria City Public Schools wants the new principal of the city’s only high school to make it “the premier high school in the region,” according to a leadership profile shared last Friday (March 27) following a community survey.

After nearly an entire school year with an interim principal, ACPS posted a job listing for a “dynamic, visionary leader” to lead Alexandria City High School — Virginia’s largest public high school, with more than 4,500 students and hundreds of employees across four campuses: King Street, Minnie Howard, Satellite and Chance for Change.


Around Town

Alexandria rock band MAYSUNS took home a regional Wammie Award for best rock band Saturday night.

It’s the third Washington Area Music Award for the band, which won best rock album and best song in 2023. The award ceremony was held at Capital Turnaround in D.C.


News

Alexandria City Public Schools has started the process of selecting a new principal for its high school in time for the next school year.

Superintendent Melanie Kay-Wyatt announced a hiring process and timeline for the next principal of Alexandria City High School. A job posting was released on Monday, and a community survey to gather input will open today (Wednesday) through March 23.


News

Alexandria City Public Schools saw a 40% reduction in the number of incidents requiring a police response during the first two quarters of this school year compared to last year, according to a school safety report recently presented to the Alexandria City School Board.

During the first semester this year, ACPS reported 167 total incidents requiring a police response across the school system and 27 student referrals or arrests. The recent incident count represents a 40% drop from the first semester last school year, which saw 279 reported incidents.


News

A teacher at Alexandria City High School has been awarded a $5,000 grant to create a project commemorating the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence this year.

ACHS math teacher Essie Jones is one of 51 educators nationwide to be selected for a Teaching America250 Award. The grant will allow her to “design and implement an engaging learning experience that helps students explore the history of America’s founding and the ideals of the Declaration of Independence,” according to Alexandria City Public Schools.


News

Around 250 to 300 students walked out of both campuses of Alexandria City High School today (Friday) to protest U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The student-led walkout lasted from around 2:15 to 2:45 p.m., according to ACPS. The event happened less than a month after hundreds of people gathered at Four Mile Run Park Plaza to protest ICE, after an officer fatally shot Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis.


News

Students from Alexandria City High School went to Richmond last Thursday to push for gun safety legislation with lawmakers as they hope the odds for passage have increased under the Democratic trifecta.

ACHS’ Students Demand Action chapter took part in Advocacy Day at the state capital, which included conversations with several legislators representing Alexandria — House Majority Leader Charniele Herring (D-4), State Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-39), Dels. Elizabeth Bennett-Parker (D-5) and Alfonso Lopez (D-3). They were joined by Virginia Moms Demand Action and other SDA chapters statewide.


Around Town

A night of live music is coming to Continues Arcade this week as a group of Alexandria high schoolers seek to raise funds for a new scholarship.

A group of juniors at Alexandria City High School is aiming to raise $12,000 over the next two months to create a new award through the Scholarship Fund of Alexandria. One fundraising event, the “Titans 4 Scholars Music Festival,” is happening from 6-8 p.m. this Thursday at Continues (1050 N. Fayette Street).


News

The Alexandria Democratic Committee voted in new leadership for two-year terms at its first organizational meeting of the year last night (Monday).

Longtime ADC member and former journalist Jon DeNunzio ran unopposed to succeed outgoing Chair Sandy Marks. He and more than a dozen ADC leadership positions were approved by members at the meeting, which was held in the cafeteria of Alexandria City High School’s King Street campus.


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