The Jack Taylor College and Career Center (CCC) has three new College Advisors to help students on their journey to college and the workforce.

In the debate over what to do with Minnie Howard, the ninth grade campus enters its second year of using a team format. It consists of eight teams, each with their own set of team teachers. Academy Administrator of Teams 1-4 Robert Bowes said, “The team system gives students a collection of students and teachers that they are comfortable with.”

Every year, the College Board announces the National Merit Scholar Semifinalists, a list of students who scored in the top one percent of test takers on the PSAT/NMSQT in October of the year before. On September 11, it was announced that T.C. has three students who received the distinction this year: seniors Leah Nickelsburg, James Grimes, and Riley Casagrande.

At the Class of 2019’s graduation last year, Superintendent Dr. Gregory Hutchings announced a new initiative--the Coming Home Campaign. This initiative encourages T.C. graduates to study education in college by guaranteeing them a job teaching in Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) should they “come home.” To be eligible, graduates must achieve a 3.0 GPA and obtain their Virginia Teaching Licensure.

Youth Artists Capture Link Between Mass Incarceration and School-to-Prison Pipeline Bridgette Adu-Wadier Deportation and increased school suspensions of minority students has lead to incarceration that arguably worsen the effects of discrimination. For youth in Chirilagua, a neighborhood in Arlandria with a high Hispanic population, art became a way to express resilience in the face of adversity. A colorful mural on the Tenants and Workers United (TWU) building in Arlandria highlights the consequences of historic discrimination, mass incarceration and the school-to-prison pipeline on Hispanic, black and immigrant youth. “Art is critical to our youth and to our communities, to be able to express what we face. This mural shows how youth…

TC’s Offsite Campus Provides Nontraditional Approach to High School Sadie Finn and Alexis Larsen The hidden gem of Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS), T.C.’s Satellite campus, offers the perfect learning alternative to the King street and Minnie Howard campuses.  Satellite is entering its eighth year after being established in 2011. It was originally located at Landmark Mall, but was moved after the first couple of years to the ACPS Central Office on Braddock Place near George Washington Middle School and the Braddock Road Metro station.  Even though Satellite is not physically connected to T.C., it is not considered a separate school from the main campus. “We are a campus of…

Back to school season has come and gone, but a public service announcement released by Sandy Hook Promise is a reminder of the ongoing violence that has become a reality in American schools.

The Teen Wellness Center (TWC) is a medical clinic providing any teen in Alexandria ages 12-17 with accessible health services. TWC’s mission is to “ensure that each and every Alexandrian teen succeeds – physically, emotionally, socially, and academically – by collaboratively providing an easily accessible wellness center at T.C. Williams High School,” according to the Alexandria City Public School’s (ACPS) website.

Abigail St. Jean Every year T.C. hosts a mock election in the library. The mock election almost directly simulates a real election. The goal is to educate potential voters and to try to increase voter registration, voter turn up at the polls, and volunteers at the polls.  Matthew Brown, a volunteer from the mock election said that the mock election “gives [the students] an opportunity with hands on experience and what happens on election day.” The students first collect ballots then, listen to a talk done by former poll volunteers about  what district they are in and how to find out where they need to vote on election day.  The…

According to the American Psychological Association (ASA) report from 2014, teens found during the school year their stress is higher than necessary. The ASA measures stress on a 10 point scale, with teen’s current stress levels at a high 5.8. The regular level of stress is 3.8.