Melanie Kay-Wyatt

ACPS teachers decry planned increases to health insurance premiums

Published May 8, 2026 at 3:45PM | Updated May 9, 2026 at 12:16PM

ACPS Superintendent Melanie KayWyatt unveils her amended Combined Funds FY2027 budget to the Alexandria School Board, May 7, 2026 (staff photo by James Cullum)

Alexandria City Public Schools staff are decrying the short notice given over an increase to their health insurance premiums, just a day before the month-long open enrollment period.

In an April 30 email, thousands of ACPS staff and retirees were told that health insurance premium rates will increase by 16% for UnitedHealthcare customers and by 8.9% for Kaiser Permanente customers, and that the changes will result in higher employee contributions. Employees who don’t go through the open enrollment process by 11:59 p.m. May 31 will lose their healthcare coverage.

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ACPS board weighs staffing and program cuts to address $5.6M budget gap

By James Cullum

Published May 6, 2026 at 2:45PM

Alexandria School Board Chair Michelle Rief speaks at Alexandria City High School's 25th anniversary celebration of the film Remember The Titans, Sept. 19, 2025 (staff photo by James Cullum)

Alexandria City School Board Chair Michelle Rief says the school system will have to look toward its own resources, and not the city, to fill a $5.6 million funding gap.

In a blog post last week, Rief addressed City Council’s decision to not fill the $5.6 million gap the school system needs to fund its proposed $12.7 million collective bargaining agreement (CBA). Council approved the city’s $979.1 million Fiscal Year 2027 budget on April 29, after some councilmembers expressed surprise that the proposed CBA was not part of a multi-year agreement.

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Virginia’s top education officials bring statewide listening tour to Alexandria

By James Cullum

Published April 9, 2026 at 11:45AM

Virginia's Secretary of Education Jeffery O. Smith listens to concerns at Alexandria City High School's Minnie Howard Campus, April 8, 2026 (staff photo by James Cullum)

Virginia’s top education officials were in Alexandria on Wednesday as part of a statewide listening tour on public education needs.

Secretary of Education Jeffery O. Smith was joined by Virginia Department of Education Superintendent of Public Instruction Jenna Conway, Alexandria City School Board members and approximately 100 participants at Alexandria City High School’s Minnie Howard Campus. House of Delegates Majority Leader Del. Charniele Herring (D-4) attended an earlier roundtable with the officials.

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JUST IN: Jefferson-Houston teacher named N. Va. region’s teacher of the year

By James Cullum

Published April 8, 2026 at 2:45PM

Jefferson-Houston AVID teacher Deedra Robinson (with her students) was named Virginia Regional Teacher of the Year, April 8, 2026 (staff photo by James Cullum)

Deedra Robinson, a teacher at Jefferson-Houston PreK-8 IB School, has been named the Region 4 (Northern Virginia) Teacher of the Year.

The surprise announcement was made this afternoon (Wednesday) by Jenna Conway, Virginia’s Superintendent of Public Instruction, in front of an assembly of students, family members and Alexandria City Public Schools administrators. Robinson teaches 48 students in the school’s Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) program and plans to retire at the end of the school year.

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Va. education secretary, elected officials to make listening tour stop at ACHS

By James Cullum

Published April 7, 2026 at 3:45PM | Updated April 9, 2026 at 11:54AM

Inside the new Alexandria City High School's Minnie Howard Campus, May 29, 2024 (staff photo by James Cullum)

Virginia Secretary of Education Jeffery O. Smith will stop at Alexandria City High School’s Minnie Howard Campus (3775 W. Braddock Road) on Wednesday night (April 8) as part of a statewide listening tour organized by the Virginia Department of Education.

Smith will be joined by Virginia’s Superintendent of Public Instruction Jenna Conway, House of Delegates Majority Leader Del. Charniele Herring (D-4), Del. Alfonso Lopez (D-3), and Alexandria City School Board members. The event at 6 p.m. is a stop on the statewide Commonwealth Listening Tour: Speak Up for Virginia’s Future. Registration is available for families seeking to attend.

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Alexandria City High School debuts renovated TV and media production studio

By James Cullum

Published December 15, 2025 at 11:45AM

As seen at the opening of the new Alexandria City High School TV production studio, Dec. 12, 2025 (staff photo by James Cullum)

There’s something different, a little more polished, about the morning announcements at Alexandria City High School these days.

Students and Alexandria City Public Schools leadership were on-hand last Friday for the opening of the newly renovated television studio for ACHS’ TV and Media Production class. With top notch equipment to boot, the new studio looks like something out of CNN, offering students real-world experience in television production, including directing, operating cameras and creating educational content.

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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.

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Alexandria leaders to speak at first-ever State of Early Childhood event

By James Cullum

Published October 2, 2025 at 2:30PM

Children listen to Paralympic gold medalist Trevon Jenifer at the Dunbar Alexandria-Olympic Boys & Girls Club at 401 N. Payne Street in Old Town (staff photo by James Cullum)

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.

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PHOTOS: 25 years after the movie, Alexandria remembers the Titans

By James Cullum

Published September 19, 2025 at 9:52PM | Updated September 20, 2025 at 5:59AM

Members of the state championship-winning 1971 T.C. Williams City High School football team sign autographs at the 25th anniversary celebration of the film Remember The Titans, from which the movie is based, Sept. 19, 2025 (staff photo by James Cullum)

The story of how coach Herman Boone transformed a newly integrated team of Black and white high school athletes into champions is legendary in Alexandria.

On Friday, 40 of the remaining real-life heroes that the film Remember The Titans is based on, commemorated the movie’s 25th anniversary. The 2000 film recounts the story of the 13-0, 1971 state champion T.C. Williams High School football team (now Alexandria City High School). The players in the newly integrated school overcame racial adversity to become state champs.

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Washington Commanders players visit Alexandria school, distribute $5,000 in food, supplies

By James Cullum

Published September 16, 2025 at 2:21PM | Updated September 16, 2025 at 3:13PM

Players with the Washington Commanders visited Mount Vernon Community School, Sept. 16, 2025 (staff photo by James Cullum)

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.

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Washington Wizards give backpacks to 700 Alexandria students

By James Cullum

Published August 15, 2025 at 3:00PM

The Washington Wizards helped tip off the 2025-26 school year with a giveaway event at William Ramsay Recreation Center on Friday, Aug. 15, 2025 (staff photo by James Cullum)

The Washington Wizards helped tip off the 2025-26 school year with a backpack and supplies giveaway today (Aug. 15) at William Ramsay Recreation Center.

Wizards forward Anthony Gill made a surprise appearance and joined rookies Tre Johnson, Will Riley, and Jamir Watkins at the event. The players, along with mascot G-Wiz and the Wizards Dancers, gave 700 backpacks to the students at William Ramsay Elementary School (5700 Sanger Avenue), which is located next to the recreation center and officially opens for the first day on Monday, Aug. 18.