More Stories of the Week

More Stories from the Week
- ACPS

School Board Meeting Summary

The newly-sworn in School Board held its first regular meeting on Jan. 6, which had the following topics on the agenda:

  • FY 2022 Monthly Financial Report ending November 30, 2021
  • Equity Audit Policy Committee Appointments
  • Douglas MacArthur Update
  • Covid-19 Update and Transition Protocol
  • Presentation of the Superintendent’s FY 2023 Combined Funds Budget

For School Board meeting agendas and documents, visit Electronic School Board. You can also visit the School Board meeting web page for information on how to view meetings live and participate.

January Partner & Volunteer Highlight: PTAC

The PTA Council (PTAC) represents the PTAs of ACPS schools and is a valued partner in our school division. The parent-teacher organization works with the superintendent and School Board members in serving ACPS students and families. The school PTAs that comprise PTAC are a way for ACPS families to get involved and help further students’ educational success.

“Alexandria PTA Council serves to connect our 17 ACPS PTA units to share best practices, resources and financial support to promote meaningful family engagement,” said Alexandria PTAC President Maureen McNulty. “We also strive to be an effective liaison between ACPS Central Office and our school communities.”

The PTAC advocates for quality public education, increased public school funding and a nurturing environment for all ACPS students. PTAC leaders meet regularly with school division leadership to share questions and input from the member PTAs and ACPS families. PTAC carries out its commitment through strong family and community engagement and its collaboration with a range of individuals and organizations to enhance its ability to serve and advocate for all ACPS families. 

“I am grateful for what our PTAC represents and the work it does to benefit all students,” said Superintendent Dr. Gregory C. Hutchings Jr. “The PTAC is a vital part of ACPS community engagement efforts, empowering families to support our students and to help make every child’s success a reality.”

In alignment with the ACPS 2025 Strategic Plan, the PTAC solidified its commitment to diversification in 2020 as it established its DEI Committee which stands for Diversity – Equity and Inclusion. Meeting on a monthly basis during the school year, the committee includes all major languages and ethnicities at ACPS.

In our schools most heavily impacted by inequitable resource availability, PTAC helps provide budgetary support for PTA activities. It helps to fund programs including field trips, cultural enrichment and community-building events, parenting workshops and teacher wish lists.

The organization also works with the Scholarship Fund of Alexandria (SFA) to provide each year a $3,750 scholarship in the name of the Alexandria PTA.

All families are welcome to join the PTAC. Looking ahead, the PTAC plans to advocate for its membership, with budget, policy and health and safety issues being priorities for the remainder of the 2021-22 school year. In her leadership role, McNulty said she plans to continue to work in transforming the PTA units to be more representative and inclusive of the families they serve, and work toward achieving greater equity among our PTA units.

More information about how to get involved in the PTAC can be found at www.AlexVaPTAC.org.

FDA & CDC Approve Boosters for Ages 12-15

As part of a broader effort to expand protection against the COVID-19 virus, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized booster shots on Jan. 3, 2022 for the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine for children aged 12 to 15. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) signed off on the decision two days later saying it now recommends that adolescents aged 12-17 should receive a booster shot after their initial Pfizer-BioNTech vaccination series.

“It is critical that we protect our children and teens from COVID-19 infection and the complications of severe disease,” CDC Director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky said after the agency endorsed the recommendation of its Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). Dr. Walensky noted that this booster dose will provide optimized protection against COVID-19 and the Omicron variant.

In updating its recommendations this week, the CDC also has backed the FDA’s decision to shorten the interval to receive a Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 booster from six months to five months. The booster interval recommendation has not changed for people who received the Moderna vaccine which remains at six months and the Johnson & Johnson vaccine interval at two months.

The CDC also adopted an FDA recommendation concerning a third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine for immunocompromised children ages five to 11 who may not mount an adequate response to the initial vaccine series. Consistent with its recommendation for adults, the CDC recommended that moderately or severely immunocompromised five to 11-year old children receive an additional primary dose of vaccine 28 days after their second shot. 

ACPS continues to partner closely with the Alexandria Health Department (AHD) and adhere to our 2021-22 health and safety mitigation measures. We remind families to please complete the Daily Symptoms Checklist and have their students wear masks that cover the nose and mouth in all ACPS facilities and school buses. We encourage families to register their students for free on-site weekly COVID-19 testing offered at each school; this is available to staff as well.