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]
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.”
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.
Updated at 3:45 p.m — The Alexandria City School Board unanimously voted 9-0 on Friday to consider changing the name of T.C. Williams by next spring.
Earlier: Alexandria City Public Schools Superintendent agrees that the name of T.C. Williams High School needs to change, and asked the community to be patient with a proposed process that, if approved today by the school board, would result in a report to be acted upon next spring.
Alexandria City Public Schools have acknowledged that Thomas Chambliss Williams was a racist and segregationist, and on Friday the School Board will decide on moving forward with the renaming process for T.C. Williams High School.
On the table is a proposal to begin the renaming process by directing Superintendent Gregory Hutchings, Jr. to initiate a public engagement process this fall, followed by a report with recommendations next spring.
Alexandria City Public Schools will not comment on assertions made by the former ACPS Chief Operating Officer Mignon Anthony, who lambasted the school system and the leadership of Superintendent Gregory Huthings, Jr. in a scathing opinion letter published by the Alexandria Times.
Anthony apologized for not fulfilling promises made when she started her job in January 2018, and said that the tide turned against her after raising concerns over de-escalating transportation employee complaints. She also that ACPS leadership is unstable and that it “does not serve our students or educators well.”
Former ACPS Chief Executive Officer Decries School System Leadership — “Some ACPS leadership and staff recognized a downward shift in my influence about a year ago. I remained focused. Then, this past December, after a disagreement about how to de-escalate transportation employee complaints, my position of chief operating officer, among other positions, was eliminated by the school board as part of what came off as a hastily generated restructuring plan by Superintendent Dr. Gregory C. Hutchings Jr., Ed.D.” [Alex Times]
City Buys 10K Face Masks for Local Nonprofits — “This week, Griffin, Jenelle, and Caroline helped bag some of the 10,000 masks purchased by the City of Alexandria for distribution to local nonprofits!” [Facebook]
The School Board will be taking up the question of renaming T.C. Williams High School this fall, but whether the school should be renamed is still undecided.
The school was built on land taken by eminent domain from a nearby black community and then was named in honor of Superintendent Thomas Chambliss Williams. Williams was an ardent segregationist who fought not only to keep the black and white students divided, but fired a school employee who tried to get her children sent to an integrated school.
One thing is clear: Alexandria City Public Schools won’t be the same if they reopen this fall, according to School Board Chair Cindy Anderson.
On Friday, the board will receive information on the school system’s reopening planning after shutting down in-person learning completely in March. Since that time, everything has been online, including classes, parent/teacher conferences and school board meetings. The plan itself is still in development.
After the long-awaited removal of the confederate Appomattox statue at Prince and Washington Streets, some in Alexandria are turning their attention back to a long-simmering discussion about whether T.C. Williams High School should be renamed.
It’s no secret that Thomas Chambliss Williams, the superintendent of Alexandria schools from the ’30s to the ’60s, was an ardent segregationist who fought against uniting black and white students in the school system. Williams notably fired a black employee who participated in an NAACP lawsuit against the city, though he claimed race had nothing to do with the decision, according to Zebra.
After some initial confusion on whether students would be required to participate in the upcoming summer school program, Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) clarified in a School Board meeting last Friday that the summer learning program is “expected but not mandatory.”
School officials said they hoped to clear the air and emphasize the flexibility of the program. Gerald Mann, executive director of elementary and secondary instruction, said families traveling over the summer or students who tend to not wake up in the morning over summer can still be accommodated in the new schedule.
