Alexandria City Public Schools Explained

Alexandria City Public Schools
Address:	1340 Braddock Place
City:	Alexandria
State:	Virginia
Zipcode:	22314
Country:	United States
Type:	School division
Superintendent:	Melanie Kay-Wyatt^[1]
Deputy Superintendent:	-->
Accreditation:	-->
Schools:	18
Budget:	$283.9 million (FY2018)^[2]
Enrollment:	15,737
Teachers:	1,415
Staff:	937
Ratio:	14:1
Conference:	Gunston District Region 6C

Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) is a school division which is funded by the government of Alexandria, Virginia, United States.

Administration

The current superintendent, appointed by the school board, is Dr. Melanie Kay-Wyatt, who began in that position on July 1, 2023. She was previously the chief of human resources in ACPS after joining the school system in 2021 and then served as the interim superintendent.^{[3] [4]}

School Board

There are nine members of the Alexandria City Public School Board. All members of the board are elected by district every three years, and the chair is appointed by the board. There are also two student representatives.^{[5] [6]}

Members

District A

• Tim Beaty
• Jacinta Greene
• Michelle Rief, chair

District B

• Kelly Carmichael Booz, vice chair
• Tammy Ignacio
• Ashley Simpson Baird

District C

• Meagan L. Alderton
• Abdel-Rahman Elnoubi
• Christopher Harris

History

The first school offering public education in Alexandria was founded in 1785, the Washington Free School, partly funded by George Washington.^[7]

Although the desegregation process began in 1959 when nine black school children entered all-white Theodore Ficklin Elementary School after an NAACP lawsuit, it was not until 1974 that Superintendent John Albohm announced "This year, we have finally reorganized our elementary schools and, in a broad sense, have completed the desegregation of our school system kindergarten through grade 12".

In November 2020, the school board unanimously voted to rename T. C. Williams High School and Matthew Maury Elementary School, with name selection coming before the 2021–22 school year.^[8] This follows years of community efforts to rename T. C. Williams because its namesake, a former superintendent of Alexandria City Public Schools, was a supporter of racial segregation in schools.

In March 2021, the superintendent put forward two final names after community input: "Alexandria High School" and "Naomi Brooks Elementary School", after a former teacher who died in 2020. The school board voted in April 2021 to change the school's names to Alexandria City High School and Naomi L. Brooks Elementary School.^[9]

Schools

The Alexandria City Public Schools consists of the following schools.^[10]

Elementary schools

• John Adams Elementary School (Grades PreK–5)
• Charles Barrett Elementary School (Grades PreK–5), named for Charles D. Barrett, a Marine officer killed in World War II who had lived in Alexandria^[11]
• Ferdinand T. Day Elementary School, named after civil rights icon Ferdinand T. Day, who was the first African American elected chair of a public school board
• Cora Kelly School for Math, Science and Technology (Grades PreK–5), named for local former teacher Cora Webster Kelly^[12]
• Lyles-Crouch Traditional Academy
• Douglas MacArthur Elementary School
• George Mason Elementary School
• Matthew Maury Elementary School
• Mount Vernon Community School
• James K. Polk Elementary School
• William Ramsay Elementary School (Grades PreK–5)
• Samuel W. Tucker Elementary School, named for Alexandria native and notable civil rights lawyer Samuel W. Tucker^[13]

K–8 schools

See also: K–8 school.

• Patrick Henry PreK-8 School (Grades PreK–8)
• Jefferson-Houston PreK-8 IB School (Grades PreK–8)

Middle schools

• George Washington Middle School
• Francis C. Hammond Middle School, named for Francis C. Hammond, a native Alexandrian who was killed in action during the Korean War and received the Medal of Honor

High schools

• Alexandria City High School (Grades 10–12)
• Alexandria City High School Minnie Howard Campus (Grade 9)

See also

• List of school divisions in Virginia

External links

• • • ACPS Express

Notes and References

1. Web site: Superintendent / ACPS Superintendent . Alexandria City Public Schools . May 6, 2023.
2. Web site: About ACPS - Fast Facts. Alexandria City Public Schools. January 24, 2019.
3. Web site: Superintendent of Schools - Alexandria City Public Schools. 2024-06-27.
4. Web site: Robertson. Thomas. Alexandria school board taps interim superintendent as permanent leader of school system. WTOP News. 2024-06-27. 2023-05-05.
5. Web site: School Board Member Assignments - Alexandria City Public Schools. 2024-06-27.
6. Web site: Student Representatives - Alexandria City Public Schools. 2024-06-27.
7. Web site: History of ACPS / History of ACPS.
8. News: School board votes to rename T.C. Williams High School. Lindsey. Sullivan. Alexandria Times. 2020-12-03. 2020-12-29.
9. Web site: New Alexandria school names for TC Williams, Maury announced. 4 March 2021.
10. Web site: Our Schools / Overview . Alexandria City Public Schools . July 2, 2018.
11. Web site: History of Charles Barrett . Alexandria City Public Schools . July 3, 2018.
12. Web site: City of Alexandria Seeks Public Comment on Proposal to Rename Cora Kelly Recreation Center to Honor Leonard "Chick" Armstrong . Alexandria City . July 9, 2018.
13. Web site: About Samuel Tucker . Alexandria City Public Schools . July 3, 2018.