Every year, ACHS staff members nominate their peers in various categories for the ACPS VIP (Vision, Integrity & Passion) awards. Mario Yach, a member of ACHS custodian team, Mario Yach, won the award under the Building Engineers category for his diligent work— work that has kept the King Street building running.
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2022 Athletic Hall of Fame
The annual Athletic Hall Of Fame ceremony took place in the Alexandria City High School auditorium on Saturday, October 8, 2022 at 2:00 pm. ACHS held this ceremony to welcome the new additions to the Hall Of Fame and celebrate their achievements. ACHS focuses on honoring and showcasing the extraordinary talents of athletes, teams, and coaches through the Athletic Hall Of Fame ceremony.
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Empty Menstrual Product Dispensers Reveal Student Struggle for Product Access
In compliance with a 2022 Virginia policy, ACHS administration installed free menstrual product dispensers in women’s bathrooms at King Street Campus before the start of the school year. However, the dispensers were never filled, and they remain empty.
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Meeting the New Superintendent: Dr. Kay-Wyatt
After a tumultuous school year, Alexandria City Public School’s Superintendent Gregory Hutchings announced on June 10 that he would not renew his contract after nearly four years. His official resignation came into effect on August 31. Starting September 1, Melanie Kay-Wyatt serves as the interim superintendent through the 22-23 school year or until the school board can appoint an eligible candidate into the permanent position.
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In the Face of the Transphobia Epidemic
On September 16, the Virginia Department of Education released new model policies for school boards addressing the treatment of transgender students. The models mandated misgendering, outing, and sex-based bathrooms, alongside optional parental restrictions on student counseling services. Immediately, the policies sparked widespread reactions throughout social media. Twitter thrummed with thousands of opinions, calls to action, and profile picture changes as the country, state, and community weighed in on Governor Youngkin’s latest swing at student rights in the name of “empowering parents.”
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Free Lunch Program Disbanded
As the COVID-19 pandemic has somewhat subsided, ACHS's free lunch program has ended. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) disbanded the coronavirus relief program in which people ages 2-18 were able to receive free lunch nationally.
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ACPS Not to Comply with Youngkin’s Anti-Transgender Policy
ACPS has announced it will not comply with a new statewide model school board policy issued by the Virginia Department of Education on Friday, September 16 that aimed to roll back transgender rights for students.
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Parent-Teacher Conferences Now More Accessible Than Ever Through ParentSquare
Parent-teacher conferences will be taking place all day on Thursday, September 29 and Friday September 30 at the Minnie Howard and King Street campuses. Conferences provide a time for parents and family members to meet with their student’s teachers and discuss any concerns or any questions they may have about their student or their schedule. Students will have the days of the conferences off in order to allow conferences to take place in-person during school hours rather than in the evening.
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Proposed Grading Policy Hurts Students, Teachers
At a meeting on August 25, the Alexandria School Board discussed a controversial grading policy focused on addressing equity problems. The meeting came weeks late, and the proposed grading policy, which stated that homework should not be graded, NHI’s should be given instead of zeros, and grades should generally reflect mastery of the curricula rather than completed work, showed a complete disconnect from teacher input.
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Titan Tickets: Risk or Reward?
The new Titan Ticket system is a part of a new ACPS PBIS (Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports) practice that is being implemented this year. Titan Tickets are raffle tickets that staff will begin to hand out to students when they are seen demonstrating positive behaviors. After collecting tickets students can then trade them in for a commensurate prize or enter it into a raffle by putting their ticket in their administrators’ fish bowl. Each week, administration will draw a ticket from the bowl and the selected student will win a prize.
