Alexandria City Public Schools is advancing its school boundary redistricting process with three proposed plans aimed at balancing student enrollment and improving school capacity utilization across the district.
The Redistricting Steering Committee will review the "Green," "Blue," and "Purple" plans during its March 12 meeting, which is scheduled for 3 p.m. in the School Board Meeting Room.
Alexandria City Manager James Parajon presented the FY 2026 budget to City Council tonight (Tuesday) but one of the major items was something not included in the budget: the conversion of Jefferson-Houston K-8 School to a middle school.
The budget included $21 million to Alexandria City Public Schools in capital funding — funding devoted to major development projects in a capital budget. In a release, the City of Alexandria said the funding was in line with the funding level requested for FY 2026 in the School Board capital funding request.
Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) data showed a decline in school safety incidents, but a notable uptick in fights/assaults.
The ACPS School Safety Data Review covers the first and second quarter of this 2024-2025 school year. Compared to the third and fourth quarters of last year incidents declined from 73 to 62, though that total still wasn’t as low as the first and second quarters from last school year at 57 incidents.
In the middle of an uproar over the planned elimination of Alexandria’s K-8 schools, a discussion at Alexandria’s City Council meeting last night (Tuesday) may have gotten the ball rolling for a new local middle school.
City Council member John Chapman asked, during a discussion of the Long-Range Planning Interdepartmental Work Program, whether the City could revisit Long Range Educational Facilities Plan — which spells out plans to improve facilities planning and accommodate the growing student population.
Fifty-five years after Black students walked through the doors of the original Minnie Howard School for the first time, a plaque will be installed honoring those whose efforts made it possible.
The historic marker, which will honor the efforts of two families who targeted the Alexandria School Board’s segregationist policies, is set to be unveiled in a ceremony on March 8.
School was closed for “traditional snow days” in January, but this month students aren’t so lucky as classes go to “synchronous learning” tomorrow.
According to a message send out by Superintendent Melanie Kay-Wyatt, all schools will implement synchronous virtual learning for students while staff will participate in a virtual workday due to snow.
Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) Superintendent Melanie Kay-Wyatt made a small clarifying addendum to a message released last month about how the school division handles immigration concerns.
Last month, Kay-Wyatt sent a letter to community members saying all children have a right to attend ACPS schools regardless of the immigration status of the students or their families. Kay-Wyatt also noted, though, that ACPS “is obligated to comply with all lawful orders and warrants from any law enforcement entity, including ICE.”
Alexandria’s Planning Commission threw its voice behind criticisms that Alexandria City Public Schools dropped the ball on the recent K-8 and PreK-8 school conversions controversy.
The Planning Commission voted unanimously last week in support of a letter concerning the George Mason Elementary School Modernization project and the Pre-K-8 School Capacity Planning Project, both of which faced scrutiny for lapses in public engagement.
Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) Superintendent Melanie Kay-Wyatt announced that the schools will have a half-day so students and staff can return home before an anticipated winter storm.
In a message sent out at 5:25 p.m. today (Monday), Kay-Wyatt wrote that schools will dismiss around noon before the storm hits. It’s estimated Alexandria could see as much as 4-6 inches of snow.
Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) will have a two-hour delayed opening tomorrow (Thursday) morning on account of expected sleet and ice tonight and tomorrow morning.
All students will report two hours later than the regular opening time, though essential personnel are expected to arrive at the normal time “if it is safe to do so based on weather conditions” while non-essential personnel should report two hours later.
Alexandria Mayor Alyia Gaskins says that recent immigration enforcement raids in nearby jurisdictions have resulted in “fear, confusion, and concern,” and that the city won’t assist federal investigators.
In a statement posted on the city website today, the Democrat mayor said that Alexandria will always be a welcoming community where “all residents are supported, respected, and valued.”
