Locals helped Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) hit their goal to collect 3,500 backpacks filled with school supplies to students in need this year.
The backpacks are being distributed by school social workers to students. ACPS said over 30 partner organizations helped raise funds and supplies for the drive.
Alexandria City Public Schools will soon make public an enrollment dashboard revealing the number of students and teachers at their schools on a monthly basis.
ACPS must submit a monthly student membership report to the Virginia Department of Education, and that information will be made public in the new dashboard next month, according to the school system.
Not long after warning families that the bus driver shortage will impact schools, Alexandria City Public Schools said it’s staggering student dismissal because of the driver shortage and schedule changes at the high school.
According to a letter from Alicia Hart, chief operating officer for Facilities and Operations at Alexandria City Public Schools, the school division will start having staggered student dismissal times for mid-day shuttle transportation at Alexandria City High School.
Alexandria City Public Schools is offering bonuses for a number of “hard-to-fill positions,” like bus drivers and math, science and special education teachers.
The employees who already work in these jobs will all get a $1,000 retention bonus in their paychecks next month, according to ACPS.
A male juvenile in his early teens faces numerous charges after allegedly breaking into two Alexandria elementary schools and stealing equipment. The teenage suspect also posted pictures from inside one of the schools at 2 a.m. on Instagram, as well as a picture of a laptop computer belonging to the principal of Cora Kelly Elementary School.
The first incident occurred at Charles Barrett Elementary School (1115 Martha Custis Drive) on the afternoon of Friday, July 12. Security footage revealed a juvenile suspect enter the school main office at around 3:55 p.m. and pick up a portable speaker and take a photo of it, according to a recently released search warrant affidavit.
Charles Barrett Elementary School in Arlandria evacuated earlier today due to smoke in the building, according to scanner traffic.
Around 11:26 a.m., the school was evacuated due to reports of smoke in the building. Around noon, the school was cleared for students to return to classes.
In what’s become an annual tradition at this point, the first week of school at Alexandria City High School was disrupted with a fire alarm.
Students were evacuated from the school a little after 2 p.m. today (Thursday). Students returned to the school less than 30 minutes later as the Alexandria Fire Department confirmed there was no danger.
Cora Kelly School for Math, Science and Technology has a new principal to usher in the new school year.
Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) announced earlier this month that Molly McCabe will be stepping into the shoes of Jasibi Crews, ACPS’ Principal of the Year last year who left at the end of the 2023-2024 school year.
Alexandria City Public Schools is looking for 40 diverse residents to help craft the direction for the school system over the next five years.
During that time, the School Board and ACPS staff will be directed to focus their attention and resources on the five-year strategic plan that this group will mold into shape.
Ahead of the start of the school year, the Virginia Department of Education has released a draft of new guidelines for restricting student cell phone use, though for the most part this aligns with the pre-existing cellphone policy in Alexandria schools.
Alexandria City Public Schools approved regulations governing cell phone use in schools last year, effective for the 2023-2024 school year.
The City of Alexandria’s speed cameras in school zones will start issuing tickets again starting with the beginning of the school year next week.
Enforcement is scheduled to kick off on Monday, Aug. 19.
