Alexandria City Public Schools are closed for the remainder of the school year.

Governor Ralph Northam made the announcement on Monday, effectively closing all public schools in Virginia.

Superintendent Gregory Hutchings, Jr. said that he and his team need a few days to finalize a continuation plan for students.

“Tomorrow, we are expecting more guidance from the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) around graduation requirements, high school credits, Standards of Learning (SOL) testing, and how to move forward with continuity of learning that meet Special Education requirements,” Hutchings said in his daily 3 p.m. video announcement.

Hutchings added, “Once this information is released from the VDOE, we will begin to share our refined plan for the extended school closures with our families and staff.”

Mayor Justin Wilson tweeted that the move is “heartbreaking as it is expected.”

The announcement by the @GovernorVA this afternoon that our schools will not be reopening this school year is as heartbreaking as it is expected.

We ALL have work to do now to ensure the health and welfare of our kids during this vulnerable and sad period of their young lives.

— Justin Wilson (@justindotnet) March 23, 2020

There are more than 15,700 students in ACPS, which is releasing staff updates at noon every day and notices to families every day at 1 p.m. in ACPS Express. Student attendance is not being tracked during the shutdown, and teachers are legally prohibited from grading any work or providing new learning material to students.

There are currently six positive cases of COVID-19 in Alexandria.

“I can’t say I’m shocked because I knew it was gonna happen,” said a student at T.C. Williams High School. “It’s crazy to think about. I feel bad for the seniors because they’re missing the best parts of high school.”

Every elementary school student was given instructional packets to take home, and students in grades 3-12 went home with Chromebook laptops. The school system has also provided educators with instructional suggestions, and have ordered them to constantly connect online with students to make sure they are thinking academically.

We know you have many questions following @GovernorVA's announcement today. Send us your questions at https://t.co/cWEWn9PeYi. We will address them in the next few days via @DrHutchings' daily video Q&A at 3pm (https://t.co/s7Les6Zvnn) and in our FAQs (https://t.co/pnAlLWEuaL). pic.twitter.com/HDjXXxrNwg

— Alexandria City Public Schools (@ACPSk12) March 23, 2020

(Updated 3/12/20) The Campagna Center in Old Town could be getting a facelift and a new addition as the local early learning organization struggles to find a way to make good use of their historic, but in many ways outdated, building.

Plans submitted to Alexandria’s Board of Architectural Review show a new expansion of the building at 418 S. Washington Street.

“As the success of the Campagna Center has grown through the years, it looks to construct an addition to its facility on South Washington Street,” the applicant said. “The addition will extend across the back of the existing building, with a smaller footprint width to minimize the visual impact from the streetscape view.”

“The addition will be three stories in height (one below grade and two above grade), consistent in height and slightly below the roofline of the existing structure,” the report continued.

Along with the new addition to the Campagna Center, upgrades are planned for the current building. Part of the project will involve connecting the new addition and completing replacement of the existing windows and roof.

Inside the building, new partition walls will help break up some of the building’s large spaces and make it more functional.

The building was constructed in 1888 as The Washington School, according to the application, and replaced an earlier school that had been there since 1812. It continued to operate as a school until it became the Alexandria City Public Schools headquarters in 1955. It was turned over to a group called Alexandria Community Y in 1981, which became the Campagna Center in 1991.

Renovating the existing building was not the Campagna Center’s first choice. The building was considered for condo development in 2016, but those plans were canceled last year, according to Alexandria Living.

The new designs are scheduled to be reviewed at the Board of Architectural Review’s April 1 meeting.

The Campagna Center told ALXnow they are in the middle of a busy week and could not comment on the upcoming changes.

A relay at St. Stephen’s and St. Agnes School, a private school in the Seminary Hill neighborhood, is planned this weekend to help raise money for early childhood education in Alexandria.

This is the second year for the relay, which raises money for Child and Family Network Centers (CFNC). The organization has raised $31,120 so far but aims to raise $120,000 to help provide free pre-kindergarten to at-risk children in Alexandria.

The organization says it costs approximately $12,000 per year, per child for a Pre-K education.

According to Relay for Pre-K’s website:

“Our families make just too much to qualify for Head Start, but not nearly enough to afford private preschool. A child’s ability to be ready for school impacts their life’s future. Getting them ready for school is one of the only changes we can make in a child’s life that will change the odds that predict who they will become when they are middle-aged adults. The path that determines who a child becomes links all the way back to preschool. When you invest in CFNC, you are investing in the child, the family, and the City of Alexandria.”

Registration for the event opens at 9 a.m., with the walk starting at 10 a.m. Teams can register in advance online.

Photo via Amy Jackson/Facebook