Summer school is in full swing, and Alexandria City High School Principal Peter Balas says he and his staff will be ready to open to five days a week of in-person instruction when the 2021-2022 school year starts on August 24.
“We’ll be ready on August 24,” Balas told ALXnow. “I’m excited. Anything other than my kitchen table five days a week would be wonderful… I hope we start in August with no masks, no restrictions.”
The story behind Alexandria’s hand-me-down graduation gown — “Five outstanding T.C. Williams High School students, five prestigious universities and colleges, two on-stage graduation performances – and one graduation gown. What began as an unplanned sharing of a typically once-worn garment has become has become an Alexandria tradition.” [Alex Times]
Contrabands and Freedmen Cemetery Memorial recognized by African American Civil Rights Network — “Contrabands and Freedmen Cemetery Memorial is the oldest and first site in Virginia to be added to the network.” [Zebra]
Alexandria leaders have acknowledged that the city’s public school system faces major security issues with the elimination of school resource officer funding.
In a joint City Council/School Board Subcommittee Meeting Monday night, School Board Vice Chair Veronica Nolan was highly critical of Council’s 4-3 decision last month to divert the program’s nearly $800,000 in funding to Alexandria City Public Schools mental health and City health resources.
The Alexandria Health Department has launched a COVID-19 testing and vaccine clinic at the Teen Wellness Center in an effort to get more 12-to-19-year-olds vaccinated.
The pilot will help the department figure out how to incorporate it into the school system, acting AHD Director Dr. Anne Gaddy told City Council and School Board members in a meeting Monday night.
Alexandria’s Noah Lyles is officially on the U.S. Olympic Team after winning the 200 meter race in the Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon, on Sunday night.
Lyles ran the race in 19.74 seconds – the fastest time clocked this year in the world — speeding to Tokyo as the second Alexandrian to join the team behind boxer Troy Isley.
What was an intense week in Alexandria. Here is the rundown.
History was made, as the new marquees at Alexandria City High School and Naomi L. Brooks Elementary Schools were unveiled this week, and the name changes to T.C. Williams High School and Matthew Maury Elementary School will go into effect July 1. It’s a victory for civil rights, as the namesakes of both old schools had backgrounds steeped in racism. Maury was a Confederate leader and Williams was an ACPS superintendent who worked intently against racial integration.
In a victory for civil rights, the marquee for Alexandria City High School was unveiled Wednesday morning, replacing the old sign bearing the name of T.C. Williams High School.
It’s been nearly a year since the effort to change the name of Virginia’s largest high school began. The new name will go into effect July 1, as will the official renaming of Matthew Maury Elementary School to Naomi L. Brooks Elementary School.
For the second year in a row, T.C. Williams track and field stars Wisdom Williams has taken home the state championship in the shot put.
The Virginia High School League’s State Championships were held at Todd Stadium in Hampton, Virginia, on Saturday.
It wasn’t easy having a famous sister, and that’s why Mia Humphrey chose art over science.
The T.C. Williams High School graduate spent years pouring her soul into her red composition notebooks, and last fall released her first album “Project Red Notebook“. Put together, the songs read like a diary.
It was a surprising week in Alexandria.
Our top story by far was on the venomous rattlesnake found in Old Town on Sunday. The timber snake, which also goes by the name American Viper, was discovered in the 400 block of Gibbon Street — a few blocks from the waterfront. It didn’t bite anyone, and was apprehended by the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria’s Animal Services team and later moved to a wildlife facility in Northern Virginia.
A pair of Alexandria track and field athletes are asking for help to get to The Outdoor Nationals next month.
T.C. Williams Titans David Coles and Joshua Peterson will compete in the Triple Jump on July 1 at the Hayward Field at the University of Oregon, which is also where the U.S. Olympic track and field trials are being conducted this month.
