School Board | ALXnow

Superintendent Proposing Phased Reopening of Alexandria City Public Schools Starting in November

Published October 14, 2020 at 11:45AM

George Washington Middle School (Staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Desks with sneeze guards, social distancing and face masks — those are a few of the recommendations that the Alexandria School Board will receive at its meeting on Thursday as Superintendent Gregory Hutchings, Jr. is set to unveil his phased approach to reopening the city’s public school system.

The pandemic forced Alexandria City Public Schools to send students home in March. Under the proposal the school system would open its doors to the city’s most vulnerable students starting next month. There are more than 400 students needing specialized instruction that would be phased into the school Between Nov. 5 and Nov. 30.

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Students, Parents Ask School Board to Not Renew Agreement Allowing Police at Alexandria City Public Schools

By James Cullum

Published October 2, 2020 at 2:40PM | Updated October 2, 2020 at 5:26PM

George Washington Middle School (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

William Olson says that his nine-year-old autistic son was improperly interrogated by an Alexandria Police officer last year.

On Thursday, Olson and a number of students, parents, and representative from the Alexandria NAACP, Tenants and Workers United, and Grassroots Alexandria told the School Board at a public hearing that it should not renew its bi-annual memorandum of understanding with the Alexandria Police Department to provide school resource officers at city schools.

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ACPS Assessing Phased School Reentry, Family Survey Goes Out Friday

By James Cullum

Published September 24, 2020 at 5:00PM

Every seven weeks, Alexandria City Public Schools will evaluate where it stands on reopening schools, Superintendent Gregory Hutchings recently told the School Board.

The school system is currently hearing a backlash from many families of younger students over its VirtualPLUS+ model. Parents are saying their kids spend too much time looking at screens, and Hutchings recently told the Board that staff are working through solutions to provide “different experiences for some of our most vulnerable students, which are our youngest learners.”

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School Board to Consider Matthew Maury Elementary School Name Change Proposal

By James Cullum

Published September 17, 2020 at 1:15PM | Updated September 18, 2020 at 4:43PM

The Alexandria City School Board on Thursday (September 17) will consider moving forward with changing the name of Matthew Maury Elementary School, which is named after Confederate leader and noted oceanographer. The placeholder name would be “The Parker-Gray Rosemont School.”

Maury was the first Superintendent of the U.S. Naval Observatory and the first hydrographer of the U.S. Navy. He was also special agent for the Confederacy during the Civil War and has a statue in Richmond. The School Board received a petition from at least 100 signatures from city residents on August 6, less than a month after the board unanimously directed Superintendent Gregory Hutchings, Jr., to begin the name change process for T.C. Williams High School.

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Superintendent: Black Student Voices Must be Heard in T.C. Williams High School Renaming Discussion

By Vernon Miles

Published August 28, 2020 at 3:45PM

Alexandria City Public Schools said the renaming of T.C. Williams High School is a conversation that must prioritize the school’s Black voices.

At a school board work session last night (Thursday), the board expressed universal approval of the planned vote on a name change for T.C. Williams High School later this year, but also pushed back against the vocal advocates for the change who accuse the school system of dragging its feet.

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Superintendent: ACPS Needs Time to Educate Public Before Vote to Change T.C. Williams High School Name

By James Cullum

Published August 20, 2020 at 10:45AM | Updated August 21, 2020 at 5:20PM

If all goes according to plan, Alexandria City Public Schools will begin a public engagement process in September and October to educate the public on who Thomas Chambliss Williams was, followed by a vote on whether to change the name of T.C. Williams High School.

The actual vote on a new name would be chosen next spring after a vote on whether the name should be changed in December, according to ACPS Superintendent Gregory Hutchings, Jr., who reported the news to the school board in a virtual retreat on Wednesday.

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Morning Notes

By James Cullum

Published August 19, 2020 at 9:00AM

Alexandria Man Wins $100,000 in Virginia Lottery — “Darrar, who used to be a small business owner, bought the winning ticket at Global Food, 1476 North Beauregard Street in Alexandria for the July 28 drawing. He plans on saving his winnings.” [Patch]

COVID-19 Cases Increase by 16 — “Positive tests up 16 to 3,146 in the City 7-day Positivity Rate up to 5.8% 3 new hospitalizations Still safer at home, wash hands, wear masks and support our essential workers.” [Twitter]

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ACPS Still Working Through Nuts and Bolts of Child Care and Virtual Schooling

By Vernon Miles

Published August 12, 2020 at 4:45PM

ACPS headquarters and clock (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Most of Alexandria’s students will not be going back to in-person schooling, but many parents likely will be going back to work, which leaves some local parents figuring out how to provide care for their children during the day.

As part of the Virtual PLUS+ program approved by the School Board, Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) has committed to providing child care for families in need. Following on the way programs were handled this summer, that could entail prioritizing spots to families most in need.

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Morning Notes

By James Cullum

Published August 10, 2020 at 9:00AM

Levine Says Murder Suspect Should Have Stayed Behind Bars — “Simply put, I think the judge made a tragically wrong decision here.” [Blue Virginia]

Lynching Victim Honored in Old Town — “121 years to the day after a mob lynched young Benjamin Thomas, the successor of the Mayor who made a half-hearted plea for due process and the successor of the “City Sergeant” (@AlexVASheriff) who failed to project Benjamin, stood at the corner and laid wreaths in his memory.” [Twitter]

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Students and Residents Putting Daily Cover Over T.C. Williams High School Name

By James Cullum

Published July 27, 2020 at 2:00PM

Students at T.C. Williams High School and city residents are placing a tarp over the school marquee every day to obscure the name until the school board votes to change it next spring.

“I don’t want to graduate from a school that is represented by a racist name,” T.C. rising senior Sarah Devendorf told ALXnow. “I don’t want to put it on my diploma, and it’s shameful because we are such a diverse liberal community.”

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Virtual or Hybrid? School Board Getting ACPS Reopening Survey Results

By James Cullum

Published July 17, 2020 at 11:45AM | Updated July 22, 2020 at 10:19AM

Updated at 5:30 p.m. — A previous version of the story said that families and staff made up the 60% who preferred a hybrid model. Staff were reportedly not asked the question

The survey results are in and 60% of Alexandria City Public School families prefer a hybrid model for reopening schools this fall. Only two options were presented to the community in the survey, meaning that when school reopens it will either remain completely virtual or there will be a hybrid of in-person and virtual learning.