Welcome to Friday, Alexandria! Here’s our compilation of the most-read stories of the week.
Our top story this week is on the sad news of the death of Tiffany Barner, a longtime Alexandria educator and a Dean of Students at Alexandria City High School. The ACHS community was notified of Barner’s death in a note July 21 (Monday) from ACHS Interim Executive Principal Lance Harrell.
Tiffany Barner, a Dean of Students at Alexandria City High School, has died.
The ACHS community was notified of Barner’s death in a note today from ACHS Interim Executive Principal Lance Harrell. No cause of death has been released, and Harrell said that counselors and mental health professionals are available to help anyone in this “heartbreaking moment.”
Not long ago, Bruce Anderson and a handful of his boyhood friends from Alexandria decided to give back with a free community cookout.
The event was a bigger hit than the group anticipated, with hundreds of people showing up to the Nannie J Lee Memorial Recreation Center (1108 Jefferson Street). Now in its third year, the Southside Community Fest features free food, live musical performances, a DJ, special guest speakers, and more.
Alexandria School Board Chair Michelle Rief responded today to the stinging letter from the PTSA of Alexandria City High School laying out “serious concerns” with Superintendent Melanie Kay-Wyatt and the school system’s central office.
While not naming Kay-Wyatt in the June 18 response, Rief wrote that the PTSA’s letter “rightly calls out the challenges that turnover can cause,” but listed several highlights from the school over the past year for context.
The Community Foundation for Northern Virginia has awarded scholarships to six Alexandria students, part of a group of over 100 recipients who will share more than $350,000 for the 2025-2026 school year.
These scholarships, which range from $1,200 to $5,000, assist students in managing the costs of higher education.
The PTSA of Alexandria City High School has sent a letter to the School Board, conveying “serious concerns” that behavior from the school system’s central office is resulting in high turnover.
The June 16 letter follows the resignation of ACHS Executive Principal Alexander Duncan III, who announced his departure the day before the last day of school (June 12). The PTSA says that seven veteran principals have left the school system in the last two years, “two of whom left immediately after winning Principal of the Year accolades.”
The Alexandria City High School Gxrls Ultimate Frisbee Team is making history this weekend as they compete in their first-ever High School National Invite tournament.
This prestigious event, featuring 32 of the nation’s top high school ultimate teams, is taking place Friday (June 13) and Saturday (June 14) in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
After serving as the executive principal of Alexandria City High School for two years, on Thursday, Alexander Duncan III announced his departure, effective June 30.
Duncan said that he has accepted another role, and thanked staff in an email. Duncan was the ACHS Minnie Howard Campus administrator, and replaced ACHS Executive Principal Peter Balas after his departure in 2023. Duncan will start his new role as principal of Washington-Liberty High School in Arlington.
What a week we just had in Alexandria!
Here’s our recap of everything worth talking and reading about over the past week in the Port City. This week, Alexandria was named a Sanctuary Jurisdiction by the Trump administration, a distinction Mayor Alyia Gaskins said “wrongly targets and mischaracterizes Alexandria and dismisses core principles that make up the foundation of our democracy.”
It wasn’t just raining outside today. Tears of happiness streamed from students, parents, educators, and city leaders as 984 Alexandria City High School seniors graduated at George Mason University’s EagleBank Arena. That’s the largest graduating class in ACHS history.
Alexandria City Public Schools Superintendent Melanie Kay-Wyatt told the students that now is the time for them to harness their potential, creativity, brilliance, and resilience.
Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) is teaming up with Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) to launch a Governor’s Health Sciences Academy (GHSA) in the 2025-26 school year.
This partnership will give students access to dual enrollment programs, industry certifications, and paths to associate degrees in high-demand healthcare fields.
