September 30 is the deadline for parents of Alexandria City Public Schools students to turn in back-to-school forms.
The school system states that the forms assist administrators with updating health information, providing points of contact for students, and addressing other significant changes. ACPS has also released videos in English (see below), Spanish, Amharic, and Dari on the forms.
Charles Barrett Elementary School unveiled a new reading corner Thursday, funded by a $75,000 Amazon donation and community partnerships aimed at boosting student literacy.
The project, six months in the making, transformed a corner of the school library with custom murals by artist Shawn James, comfortable seating and hundreds of new books. Amazon also donated 500 backpacks filled with books and supplies, while Reading Is Fundamental contributed more than 1,000 books to the school library.
Alexandria City Public Schools will present quarterly safety data to the School Board Thursday showing a dramatic decline in student arrests and court referrals, with 28 total cases during the 2024-25 school year compared to 69 the previous year.
The latest quarterly report covers 262 safety incidents between January and June, with 8 student court referrals and 6 arrests during the third and fourth quarters. This represents a 59% decrease from the 2023-24 school year.
Mount Vernon Community School students in Alexandria got a visit on Tuesday from Washington Commanders players, who gave away $5,000 worth of food, plush footballs, hats, and notebooks.
Commanders running back Christopher Rodriguez, Jr., wide receivers Jaylin Lane and Chris Moore, and mascot Major Tuddy visited the school in collaboration with the nonprofit Blessings in a Backpack. In addition to receiving signed team merchandise, students also got bags with yogurt, pretzels, fruit cups, cereal, soup, macaroni and cheese, and tuna.
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.
The library at Alexandria City High School’s Minnie Howard campus has successfully gotten crowdsource funding for LEGO architecture kits.
The school librarian raised $755 from a dozen givers via Donors Choose for kits that include Malfoy Manor from the Harry Potter book series, the Great Pyramid of Giza, and the Statue of Liberty.
Hundreds of Alexandria City High School students held a walkout on Friday, Sept. 5, demonstrating against gun violence in schools.
The walkout at ACHS’s King Street and Minnie Howard campuses started at 11:30 a.m., and lasted for less than a half hour. The demonstrations are part of a national walkout, were organized by Titans Demand Action and held on school grounds. Media was not permitted to observe, except from the public sidewalk. Students held signs, threw water bottles and chanted, “End the violence!”
Alexandria City Public Schools has won an award from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for its federally funded school nutrition program.
ACPS announced today (Friday, Aug. 22) that it received a Healthy Meals Incentives (HMI) Recognition Award from Action for Healthy Kids (AFHK) and U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Nearly 1,000 Alexandria children have received emergency resources since the opening of ALX Closet in 2024.
The resource center at the Del Pepper Community Resource Center (4850 Mark Center Drive) is a collaboration between nonprofits The Center for Alexandria’s Children and The Fund for Alexandria’s Child, providing kids with donations of clothes, diapers, formula, and more to families experiencing a crisis.
Get ready to dance, because the third annual Wilderness Kids Alexandria Music Festival is around the corner.
The free family-friendly event will be held Sunday, Sept. 28, from 12 to 5 p.m., at Pat Miller Neighborhood Square (2311 Mount Vernon Avenue). Local bands the MAYSUNS, the Derds (Del Ray Dads), Beachface, and Czars of Leisure will perform, and the fundraising event includes raffles, craft-making, and lawn games.
Code Rising gave dozens of Alexandria students a nice surprise with the end of their second annual summer camp this month — new laptops.
The Alexandria nonprofit was founded two years ago to help underprivileged kids learn about science, technology, engineering, arts, and math. The summer program provided elementary, middle and high school students with an introduction to STEAM education (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) through the summer months, with students learning coding, making short movies and video games. They also went on weekly field trips, including to Continues Arcade in Old Town and more.
