An Alexandria education nonprofit has been honored with a statewide award for one of its mentoring programs.
The Campagna Center was recognized by Mentor Virginia last month for Wright to Read, a program that has trained and paired reading tutors with elementary students in Alexandria for 45 years. The program received the 2025 Champions of Mentoring Award at a ceremony in Richmond on Oct. 23.
A free kids’ event at an Alexandria elementary school next month will combine recycling, crafting and competition.
The “Recycled Royal Rumble” is happening from 1-4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 16 at Patrick Henry K-8 School’s athletic field (4653 Taney Avenue). The outdoor challenge tasks kids to create medieval-inspired armor and costumes using cardboard, recycled materials and household items.
Teams of Alexandria kids and parents will visit dozens of stores this weekend to put warning stickers on beer, wine, and other alcohol containers.
The annual Project Sticker Shock Campaign is intended to highlight the consequences of buying alcohol for underage youth. Participating Alexandria City High School students will fulfill their community service requirement by placing warning labels provided by the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control on multi-packs of alcoholic drinks.
The Northern Virginia Juvenile Detention Center is holding a free concert Thursday night (Oct. 23) with music created by youth residents.
The event is the culmination of three days of workshops with the nonprofit Sound Impact, and will be held at the NVJCD (200 S. Whiting Street) from 6 to 7:30 p.m.
Get your running shoes ready, because the Saint Rita Catholic School 5K and 1K Kids Fun Run are returning to Alexandria on Saturday, Nov. 15.
The races are a fundraiser for the school, and the course starts outside George Washington Middle School (1005 Mount Vernon Avenue), then heads down tree-lined Main Line Boulevard and Potomac Avenue, and returns to GW. More details on the races are below.
Alexandria is conducting an eight-hour mental health training session for adults on identifying warning signs and symptoms of mental health and substance abuse disorders, the effects of illness, and treatment options.
The free session, hosted by the city’s Department of Community and Human Services, will take place on Wednesday, October 15, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 4850 Mark Center Drive. Registration is required. The session is open to “parents, family members, caregivers, teachers, school staff, peers, neighbors, health and human services workers and other caring residents,” according to DCHS.
Alexandria leaders will discuss the early childhood initiatives across the city in a first-ever series of conversations.
The Kids’ First Years (KFY) State of Early Childhood 2025 event will be held at First Baptist Church (2922 King Street) from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 7. Mayor Alyia Gaskins will kick off the free event with opening remarks, along with KFY CEO Michelle Smith Howard. The event is intended to bring together city leaders, educators, and advocates to “build a thriving early childhood system that fuels the city’s economy, strengthens the workforce and supports every family,” according to the nonprofit.
A student brandished a pocket knife during a classroom argument Thursday at Alexandria City High School’s Minnie Howard Campus, but no one was injured, school officials said.
Teachers quickly separated the students involved in the dispute, and school resource officers responded immediately, Harrell said. The incident occurred in a second-floor classroom shortly before noon, according to radio dispatches.
The Alexandria Police Department is partnering with local organizations to host a back-to-school soccer tournament for local youth on Saturday, Sept. 27.
The tournament will consist of a series of pick-up soccer games for teenagers at Alexandria City High School‘s King Street campus (3330 King Street), providing positive outlets and introducing them to city resources. The free event, presented by APD’s Crime Prevention Unit, the Alexandria Police Foundation, the Alexandria Gang Prevention Community Task Force, Alexandria Juvenile Court Services, the Alexandria Soccer Association, NOVA RAFT, and the Alexandria Sheriff’s Office, will take place from 2 to 6 p.m.
Following Tuesday’s story about DASH hiring policies not prohibiting sex offenders, the transit agency has placed two employees on the Virginia State Police registry on administrative leave to “assess the rigor of our recruitment standards and ensure we meet the highest standards in providing safe, fair, and accessible transit to our community.”
ALXnow looked into DASH’s hiring practices after the Alexandria School Board discussed safety concerns about a proposal to transport Alexandria City High School students on DASH buses starting next school year.
UPDATE (Sept. 24, 2025): Following this reporting, DASH has placed both registered sex offenders on administrative leave. The transit agency said it is now assessing “the rigor of our recruitment standards” and confirmed that one of the employees is a bus driver, contradicting its initial statement Tuesday that no drivers were on the registry. DASH places 2 registered sex offenders on leave following ALXnow reporting
Following a discussion on the Alexandria School Board’s safety concerns about the proposal to transport Alexandria City High School students on DASH buses, ALXnow investigated the transit agency’s background check policies and discovered that it does not “expressly prohibit” sex offenders from employment.
