Editor’s note: Former school board member Helen Morris and I co-authored this column which appeared in the October 7, 2021 edition of the Alexandria Times. As early voting for the Virginia general election gets underway, there’s an important but often overlooked nonpartisan contest near the bottom of the ballot—Alexandria School Board. Even if you don’t have school-age children, your vote matters: School boards oversee the spending of YOUR tax dollars, […]
Alexandria School Board Chair Meagan Alderton was spot on when she said recently that our city’s inadequate aquatics facilities are a clear example of racial disparities in our community. She is correct that we need to teach elementary students how to swim, especially our Black and Brown children who are less likely to receive swim lessons outside of school. By doing this, we will be imparting essential life skills and […]
Dear Chair Anderson, Vice-Chair Nolan and Members of the School Board: Your decision this Thursday about whether to maintain one connected T.C. Williams High School or to build a second comprehensive high school is about as clear-cut as it gets: Choose the option for adding capacity that is quickest, least expensive and most equitable. Most equitable: To avoid repeating the sins of the past is the most important reason why […]
The most recent Trump administration policy change designed to sow fear and confusion among immigrants—the potential denial of a green card if an individual has taken advantage of need-based public benefits such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (food stamps), Medicaid or housing vouchers—is doubly pernicious. First, it will have a chilling effect on families seeking the food and health care assistance to which they are entitled, and second, it […]
Welcome to Port City Notebook’s fifth annual Guide to the Program of Studies for parents of middle- and high-school parents. You might benefit from looking back at previous editions of this post (2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017) which contain general information that’s largely still current about course requirements and selections. At 115 pages, the Program of Studies resembles a college course catalog. Take a quick glance at it and you’ll […]
When my daughters were in preschool, the gifted and unfailingly patient teachers there taught their young charges the “STAR” method for dealing with challenges and frustrations: Stop, Take a Deep Breath, And Relax. There was even a little song that went with it. The somewhat-annoying little ditty had the (probably intended) effect of rubbing off on the parents. I confess that I still fall back on those simple instructions 15 […]
A recent Facebook chat comparing Alexandria’s average cost of educating a student to that of neighboring school divisions was a helpful reminder to update a blog post from the fall of 2013. Especially during budget season, it’s important for city residents to understand the composition of our student population, and how it is similar to and different from our surrounding jurisdictions. About 15,000 students are currently enrolled in ACPS, up […]
Note: This is Part 1 in a series about meeting the challenges of increased enrollment and too little school capacity. Whenever I listen to or participate in conversations around the city on the topic of overcrowding in our schools, several myths often crop up. Myth 1: Students whose families live in neighboring jurisdictions are part of the problem. In order to enroll a kindergartener or a transfer student in ACPS, […]
Many parents are asking each other this week: What do I say to my children? We strive to raise them to embrace empathy and acceptance, and to reject name-calling and bullying. We teach them the importance of taking responsibility for their actions, being prepared in the classroom and the athletic venue, and using scientific methods, facts and reason in their intellectual pursuits. We teach our daughters, in particular, that they […]
Social workers in Alexandria City Public Schools are tasked with helping students and families overcome a wide range of barriers to education, from family crises and child abuse to truancy and mental health issues. Every ACPS elementary and middle school has at least one full-time social worker. At T.C. Williams, among their other duties, a team of social workers also works diligently to give students the support that they need […]
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