kids | ALXnow

Colorful DASH bus to be unveiled at ‘Month of the Young Child’ kickoff in Alexandria

Published April 1, 2026 at 3:45PM | Updated April 2, 2026 at 9:06AM

DASH bus at the DASH facility (via DASH/Facebook)

Alexandria’s DASH bus service will unveil a bus with colorful wraparound graphics next week to kick off April as the city’s Month of the Young Child.

At 10 a.m. Monday, April 6, Mayor Alyia Gaskins will be on hand at DASH headquarters (3000 Business Center Drive) to reveal the bus, which includes colorful wraparound graphics outside the bus. Through a partnership with local nonprofit Kids’ First Years, buses will display messaging on the five principles to help young children thrive. This is the second year that the city has devoted April toward promoting early childhood education and development with planned activities across the city.

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Alexandria police recover firearm in child’s backpack, prompting investigation

By Katie Taranto

Published March 4, 2026 at 4:01PM

4850 Mark Center Drive (via Google Maps)

A student “may have brought a loaded firearm” to Samuel W. Tucker Elementary School yesterday (Tuesday), according to an Alexandria City Public Schools message sent to the school’s community today.

The Alexandria Police Department recovered a firearm inside an 8-year-old child’s backpack yesterday in a Child Protective Services office at 4850 Mark Center Drive, the department told ALXnow. No injuries were reported, and officers are investigating the cause of the incident.

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VDH: Measles outbreak not likely in N. Va. despite uptick in cases

By Katie Taranto

Published February 23, 2026 at 3:30PM | Updated February 24, 2026 at 9:41AM

The entrance of the Alexandria Health Department (courtesy of the Alexandria Health Department)

Maintaining high childhood vaccination rates is key to preventing measles outbreaks, state health experts say, as cases have seen an uptick in Northern Virginia and across the country this year.

In the first two months of 2026, Virginia has confirmed 10 cases of measles — double the total cases recorded last year — and nine of them have been in the northern region, with exposures reported in Alexandria, Fairfax County and surrounding areas.

Around Town

Hopkins House preschoolers share songs, crafts with seniors for Valentine’s Day

By Katie Taranto

Published February 13, 2026 at 2:45PM

Students from Hopkins House's k-prep class met with seniors on Friday, Feb. 6, for a Valentine's Day celebration (staff photo by Katie Taranto)

Ahead of Valentine’s Day, preschoolers from Hopkins House brought joy and laughter to The Senior Center at Charles Houston during an annual celebration last week.

The k-prep class from Helen Day Preschool Academy joined Alexandria seniors for a lively morning of crafts and dancing on Friday, Feb. 6. About a dozen students made handmade valentines for seniors, many of whom are regular visitors to the center.

Around Town

Girl Scout cookie sales begin in Alexandria next week with new ‘rocky road’-inspired treat

By Katie Taranto

Published January 27, 2026 at 2:45PM

Girl Scouts of Nation's Capital members hold boxes of cookies at a booth in 2024 (courtesy of Girl Scouts Nation’s Capital)

Girl Scout cookie season is back, and it’s coming soon to Alexandria.

In-person cookie booth sales with Girl Scouts of Nation’s Capital return next week on Friday, Feb. 6. Shoppers will be able to snag the classics like Thin Mints and Trefoils, as well as a new rocky road ice cream-flavored cookie, Exploremores.

Around Town

Young cancer survivor from Alexandria celebrated New Year’s with surprise Caps tickets

By Katie Taranto

Published January 22, 2026 at 2:45PM

Sutton Bullard (bottom left) with a friend and family at Washington Capitals game on New Year's Eve (courtesy of Jolie Berman)

A young Caps fan and cancer survivor from Alexandria rang in the new year with surprise tickets to see the team and reunite with her favorite player earlier this month.

Sutton Bullard, 7, spent New Year’s Eve with her family watching the Caps defeat the New York Rangers, and later reuniting with goaltender Logan Thompson. It was the end of an eventful year for Sutton, who in November celebrated the end of her chemotherapy with a bell-ringing ceremony, in which Thompson had paid a surprise visit.

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DASH party bus helps Del Ray preschooler celebrate his ‘dream’ birthday

By Katie Taranto

Published January 5, 2026 at 3:45PM

Group photo at Rowan Gilbart's fourth birthday party with DASH (courtesy of Erica Toler)

The wheels on a Del Ray preschooler’s birthday party bus went round and round Alexandria last week.

Four-year-old Rowan Gilbart celebrated his best birthday yet with a DASH charter bus ride and tour of the system’s facilities on Friday. The Del Ray kid “loves riding the bus,” mother Erica Toler told ALXnow, and the duo regularly take Line 33 to get to preschool and other places around town.

Around Town

Alexandria anime convention ‘PatCon’ opens vendor applications for February celebration

By Katie Taranto

Published December 17, 2025 at 1:45PM

PatCon 2025 (via Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities, City of Alexandria, VA/Facebook)

Alexandria is calling on artists, makers and small businesses to apply for vendor spots at PatCon 2026, the city’s grassroots anime festival.

Vendor registration is open now through Jan. 23 for the festival, which is happening from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Feb. 7 at the Patrick Henry Recreation Center at 4653 Taney Avenue. The annual celebration is hosted by the recreation center’s Anime Society and is free to attend.

News

ACPS student performance holds steady behind state levels, new data shows

By Katie Taranto

Published December 10, 2025 at 3:45PM

Alexandria City High School's graduation at George Mason University's EagleBank Arena, May 28, 2025 (staff photo by James Cullum)

Student achievement across Alexandria City Public Schools appears to be hovering steady compared to last year, according to new state data, but the district’s numbers still linger behind the commonwealth.

In the 2024-2025 school year, 62% percent of ACPS students passed state reading tests, up one percentage point from the year prior, according to Virginia Department of Education’s accountability system, the School Performance and Support Framework.

Around Town

Washington Capitals bringing new youth street hockey league to Alexandria

By Katie Taranto

Published December 10, 2025 at 11:45AM

Capitals street hockey programming (courtesy of the Washington Capitals)

Francis C. Hammond Middle School is among three regional venues that will host a new, co-ed youth hockey league led by the Washington Capitals in the new year.

Registration has opened for the team’s first-ever Capitals Street Hockey League (CSHL), intended for kids ages 5-12. The season’s eight weekends of games, lasting from March through May 2026, will take place at three venues, including the middle school at 4646 Seminary Road, according to a release.

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Annual holiday Toys4ALX Collection Drive ends next week

By Katie Taranto

Published December 5, 2025 at 1:45PM

Volunteer Alexandria's Toys 4 ALX holiday toy drive (via Port City Brewing Company/Facebook)

Science kits, race cars, Legos and sport balls.

Those are just some of the donation ideas Volunteer Alexandria is calling on the community to contribute to its annual holiday drive, Toys4ALX, which closes next Thursday, Dec. 11. Volunteers are aiming to collect more than 3,500 new, unwrapped toys for 700 kids and counting across the city.