Be aware that the School Zone speed limits will now be in effect during the day at Alexandria City High School starting next month.
The City of Alexandria announced an “expanded enforcement of school zone speed limits” beginning on Monday, Nov. 4. The release said school zone speed limits will be active at the King Street and Minnie Howard campuses during the school day, in addition to morning arrival and afternoon dismissals.
The Patrick Henry and Jefferson-Houston school communities largely want their schools to remain as-is, but Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) said analysis showed they might need to convert to an elementary and middle school to help with division-wide capacity problems.
Currently, Patrick Henry and Jefferson-Houston are Pre-K through 8th-grade schools, but ACPS is considering converting one or both schools into elementary schools (Pre-K through 5th grade) or middle schools (6th through 8th grade).
Alexandria City Public Schools has taken a step forward in crafting school policy around artificial intelligence.
The district formed an “AI Impact team” earlier this summer, taking a proactive approach to determine how AI can be used to the benefit of the schools, a report said.
Alexandria City Public Schools wants to fully revamp its website over the course of the next several months.
The School Board will get a primer on a “comprehensive review and refresh” of the website at their meeting this Thursday night.
After an editorial from Alexandria City High School student newspaper Theogony said students walk between classes because buses are not available, Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) leadership has responded that bus availability isn’t an issue and it could be cracking down soon on students walking between campuses.
Theogony reported that roughly 1,600 students travel between the King Street and Minnie Howard campuses of Alexandria City High School every day and hundreds of students say they’re unable to rely on bus transportation for that trip. Those students walk the 0.6 mile distance between campuses across the busy and dangerous Quaker-King-Braddock intersection.
The staffing crisis at Alexandria City Public Schools has simmered, according to a recent presentation to the School Board.
The school system was significantly challenged by a shortfall of more than 150 positions in the 2023/2024 school year. Now ACPS is short 12 .75 teachers, 12 bus drivers and 23 central office staffers.
The Alexandria School Board approved the “Option A – Open Heart” concept for the modernization of George Mason Elementary School.
While the Board voted 7-2 for Option A, it was a contentious vote that saw two abstentions from Members Jacinta Greene and Abdel Elnoubi, who both said that the Board and ACPS staff did not do their “due diligence” in finding the best options to replace the 85-year-old school. They are also both running for City Council in November.
Good Friday morning, Alexandria!
☀️ Today’s weather: Expect sunny skies and a high of approximately 68 degrees, accompanied by a west wind ranging from 5 to 7 mph. As the night rolls in, the sky will remain clear, with the temperature dropping to an estimated low of 49 degrees while a southwest wind blows at about 6 mph.
Thirty-eight Alexandria students were referred to court for alleged criminal activity in the second semester of the last school year, and there was also a significant uptick in the number of incidents requiring a police response.
That’s according to a new system-wide safety report that the School Board will receive on Thursday night.
After lead exposure shut down Naomi L. Brooks Elementary School last week, the Alexandria Health Department (AHD) is offering walk-in blood lead level testing today (Thursday) and tomorrow (Friday).
According to Eve Elliott, communications officer for AHD, testing is being offered today from 1-6 p.m. and Friday from 1-6 p.m. The testing is free and available to all students, staff, faculty and volunteers. The Alexandria Health Department will not check class or faculty lists.
At a meeting last night (Tuesday), Alexandria City Public Schools outlined the road ahead for modernizing the 85-year-old George Mason Elementary School.
The presentation said the School Board will be selecting a concept design for the school. This concept will determine site placement, building mass and more.
