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 Alexandria Police Department (APD) has removed from consideration a controversial request that would have granted school resource officers direct access to student records, according to Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS).
Following the grilling of Alexandria Police Chief Tarrick McGuire by the City Council, the School Board unanimously voted last Thursday to extend the soon-to-expire two-year memorandum of understanding (MOU) between ACPS and the police. The six-month extension means that Alexandria City High School and the city’s middle schools will continue with their assigned school resource officers as is, while the details of the draft MOU are ironed out.
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.”
It took months of community meetings and work sessions, and on Thursday (June 12), the Alexandria School Board approved redistricting maps for its elementary and middle schools.
The Board whittled down its choices to the Triangle 3 map for elementary schools and Option E for middle schools. Here’s what that means:
With a years-long renovation breaking ground this summer, the move-out dates have been set for staff at George Mason Elementary School (2601 Cameron Mills Road).
Staff began packing up in early May, according to ACPS, and the main move, a 3.5-mile relocation to the building at 1703 N. Beauregard Street, is scheduled for June 16-20. The newly renovated George Mason Elementary is planned to reopen for students in August 2027.
The Alexandria City School Board held a public hearing on the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) and the Alexandria Police Department (APD) on Tuesday (May 27). The hearing focused on proposed revisions to the agreement that governs the relationship between schools and law enforcement, including the role of School Resource Officers (SROs).
Four speakers addressed the board during the sixteen-minute hearing, expressing concerns about specific provisions in the proposed MOU. The primary issues raised include student privacy, access to educational records, and procedures for questioning students.
