At just 10 months old, Alexandria baby Ava Pasley has earned her place in the national spotlight.
Ava is in the top 10 of the 2026 Baby of the Year competition run by Colossal Management to support nonprofit Baby2Baby. She has advanced to the round of voting that will determine the top five babies. She comes from an Air Force veteran mother who is now a deputy sheriff at the Alexandria Sheriff’s Office and active-duty Air Force father.
Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger (D) got a firsthand look at Alexandria-based nonprofit Cornerstone Craftsman Tuesday morning (Sept. 15).
Spanberger made expanding workforce programs for children a part of her Growing Virginia Plan when she ran for governor. She toured the space and met with Cornerstone Craftsman’s stakeholders, including Alexandria Sheriff Sean Casey, Alexandria City School Board Chair Chris Harris and Clark Mercer, chair of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments.
An Alexandria juvenile was arrested for allegedly robbing the batting cages concession stand at Cameron Run Regional Park on Eisenhower Avenue.
Around 9:40 p.m. on Aug. 1, an employee at the concession stand heard a knock at the door, and when he opened it saw two people wearing all black clothing and black face masks, according to a recently unsealed search warrant affidavit. One suspect allegedly grabbed the cashier from behind to restrain him, while the second suspect went to the cash drawer and stole more than $200.
Two Alexandria City High School seniors got a surprise today (Friday) when they were awarded $40,000 Amazon Future Engineers scholarships.
Seniors Zhi McMillan and Mohammad Elyas Noorzai received the scholarships as well as internship opportunities with the multinational technology company. The awards were presented by 2022 scholarship recipient Sai Naraharisetti, who will start work as an Amazon software engineer in Seattle after graduating next year.
Alexandria’s DASH bus service kicked off April’s Month of the Young Child this morning (Monday) with the unveiling of a bus covered with early childhood development messaging intended to inspire parents.
The bus “takeover” was unveiled at DASH headquarters (3000 Business Center Drive) and includes exterior wraparound messaging and interior display messaging on five principles to help young children thrive. Mayor Alyia Gaskins, DASH CEO Josh Baker and Michelle Smith Howard, CEO of Kids’ First Years, were among approximately 50 children and adults who attended.
A 10-year-old girl from Alexandria has set a kids’ world record for the longest time continuously jumping on a pogo stick.
Del Ray resident Lily Youngblood learned how to use a pogo stick on Oct. 6, 2025. Just three days later, she set the world record in her age range for the longest time jumping on one — a distinction recognized by Canada-based Kids World Records.
A team of professionals in Alexandria has received a top statewide award for its work responding to allegations of child abuse.
Earlier this month, the Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT) from the Center for Alexandria’s Children received the 2025 MDT of the Year recognition by the Children’s Advocacy Centers of Virginia (CACVA) at the Virginia Crimes Against Children Conference in Virginia Beach.
A teacher at a daycare in Old Town North has been fired, and her aide was reprimanded after a 21-month-old child was tied to a chair for 22 minutes during lunchtime on Wednesday, August 13.
The Virginia Department of Social Services (DSS) made an unannounced inspection of the Vinci School Alexandria North (1001 N. Fairfax Street) on Aug. 21, after receiving a self-report on forbidden actions from the daycare’s licensing office. The toddler was tied to a chair with a thin blanket after throwing food on the floor and moving from a table while eating during lunchtime, DSS reported.
A four-year-old student with autism walked away from Jefferson-Houston Elementary School in Old Town last month and was found barefoot in the middle the street by a school bus driver near the King Street Metro station.
A number of school officials were consequently placed on administrative leave by Alexandria City Public Schools Superintendent Melanie Kay-Wyatt.
The mother of the child who brought a gun to Lyles-Crouch Traditional Academy in Old Town last month has been arrested and charged with allowing access of firearms to children.
The child went to school (530 S. St. Asaph Street) on March 1 with the wrong backpack and discovered the handgun in the bag and reported it to their teacher.
An Alexandria middle school student allegedly admitted to her parents and police that she sent a threatening message to her school’s Instagram page last month, according to a recently released search warrant affidavit.
On Oct. 11 (Wednesday), at around 5 p.m., a now-unavailable Instagram account sent a direct message to an Alexandria middle school’s Instagram page and said, “Be prepared for October 12, 2023,” and then said that “11th and 12th grade upper school teachers” were targeted and that there were “many more who must suffer.”
