Monday, March 11, 2013
Event will be held Tuesday night at Charles Houston Recreation Center.
The Alexandria Chapter of the NAACP has invited the public to attend a question-and-answer session on Tuesday with Morton Sherman, superintendent of Alexandria City Public Schools. The event begins at 7 p.m. and will be held at Charles Houston Recreation Center, located at 905 Wythe St. Branch leadership criticized ACPS for the Feb. 5 arrest of a 10-year-old Douglas MacArthur Elementary School student for an incident involving a toy gun, calling it “senseless” and “insensitive” because “by all accounts, everyone knew” the toy wasn't a weapon. Branch President James Williams and Vice President Jacqueline Johnson said at the time they planned to meet with Sherman to address the incident and how it was handled. The student, who is African …
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
All Alexandria City Public Schools are closed Wednesday. City government is open.
A look at school closings and delays in the Alexandria area for Wednesday, March 6. • For more information: Virginia Snow Storm: Closings, Traffic in Alexandria Last updated — 8:15 a.m. Wednesday Closed Closed The City of Alexandria government offices and facilities will be open as scheduled, with unscheduled leave permitted for employees. Emergency personnel must report for duty as scheduled. Alexandria Public Schools employees should follow code red procedures.
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Commonwealth's Attorney Randy Sengel says the incident can be "best handled" within Alexandria's school system.
The 10-year-old Douglas MacArthur Elementary school student who was arrested Feb. 5 for an incident involving a toy gun on a school bus will not face criminal charges, according to reports from The Alexandria Times and The Washington Post. • See Patch's previous story: MacArthur Student Handed Weapons Charge Following Toy Gun Incident “We did not feel it was appropriate or productive to proceed with criminal prosecution and believe the matter can be best handled administratively within the school system,” Commonwealth’s Attorney Randy Sengel told The Washington Post. The student showed the toy gun to students on a bus ride home from school on Feb. 4. The mother of another student learned of the incident and contacted the school. MacArthur …
Monday, February 25, 2013
Alexandria NAACP branch leadership plans meeting with ACPS officials.
ALEXANDRIA, VA -- The Alexandria branch of the NAACP is criticizing the Feb. 5 arrest of a 10-year-old Douglas MacArthur Elementary School student for an incident involving a toy gun, calling it “senseless” and “insensitive” in a statement sent to Patch Sunday evening because “by all accounts, everyone knew” the toy wasn't a weapon. Branch President James Williams and Vice President Jacqueline Johnson said they plan to meet with Alexandria City Public Schools Superintendent Morton Sherman to address the incident and how it was handled. The student is African American. • See Patch’s previous coverage on gun laws: Biden in Richmond "We Cannot Remain Silent on Guns" “While we are sensitive to and share in the legitimate safety concerns …
Thursday, February 21, 2013
The measure can only take effect if the state budget includes funding for the new Opportunity Educational Institution.
The Virginia House has passed controversial legislation crafted to aid chronically failing schools, sending the measure to the governor’s desk. “I am pleased with the bipartisan recognition in the General Assembly that we can no longer tolerate chronically failing schools in Virginia,” Gov. Bob McDonnell said after passage of the Opportunity Educational Institution. “…With today’s vote in the House, Virginia sends a message that the status quo is not acceptable in chronically failing schools. We have laid out a clear path to turn around those schools and provide the students who attend them with the world-class educational opportunities they deserve.” The House of Delegates voted 64-34 to pass the bill. The Senate passed the measure on a …
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
The dates for Alexandria City Public Schools' open houses for families of rising kindergartners begin this month.
Alexandria City Public Schools has announced open house dates for parents of rising kindergarteners. An open house is designed for parents to meet the school principal and staff and learn more about curriculum. Kindergarten registration for ACPS will begin April 8. To be eligible for kindergarten for the 2013-14 school year, a child must be five years old on or before Sept. 30, 2013. For more news about Alexandria City Public Schools, sign up for the Old Town Alexandria Patch daily email newsletter, follow @alexandriapatch on Twitter and Like Old Town Alexandria Patch on Facebook. An ACPS flier cautions parents that students enrolled after June 14 “may be considered for modified open enrollment and could be placed in a school outside your …
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
The state Senate is expected to vote on it Tuesday, while a related measure to amend the state Constitution is likely dead for at least a year.
The Viriginia Senate pushed off until Tuesday a vote on a measure that would allow a newly created body to take over failing Virginia schools. Senators had been scheduled to vote on it Monday, reports the Richmond Times-Dispatch. The measure would allow a state entity to take over schools that are not accredited or have been accredited with warning, including schools such as Alexandria's Jefferson-Houston and others. Meanwhile, another effort by Del. Gregory Habeeb (R-Salem) to amend the Virginia Constitution to allow this proposed statewide school division to take over struggling schools is likely dead for the year, according to the newspaper. Habeeb is also the author of the legislation that has many in the Alexandria community in an …
Nakicha Gilbert tells The Washington Post she has not received a clear explanation of why police took her son into custody.
Nakicha Gilbert, whose 10-year-old son was charged with brandishing a weapon by Alexandria police earlier this month following an incident involving a toy gun on a school bus, criticized the case’s handling in a story Monday in The Washington Post. “This is how kids get caught up in the system,” Gilbert told the Post, adding that she still has not received a clear explanation of why police were called and why her son was taken into custody. * See Patch's previous story: MacArthur Student Handed Weapons Charge Following Toy Gun Incident According to the report, Gilbert’s son took a toy gun purchased at a dollar store out of his backpack on a bus ride from Douglas MacArthur Elementary School on Feb. 4 and placed it in a pocket in his …
Monday, February 11, 2013
Alexandria City Public Schools' board sent a letter to Gov. Bob McDonnell saying proposed legislation would harm a local school.
Members of the Alexandria City School Board sent a letter to the state governor opposing legislation they say would usurp their power and adversely affect Jefferson-Houston School. Additionally, they requested a meeting in Richmond with Gov. Bob McDonnell to discuss the matter. The board late last week said while it welcomes the governor’s efforts to “improve education at Virginia public schools, including advancing educational achievement at the lowest performing school…we strongly oppose the Opportunity Educational Institution legislation.” The measure, which the Senate and House have adopted “will not produce the results we all want,” they wrote. State Del. Rob Krupicka (D-45), a former Alexandria city councilman and ex-member of the …
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Incident occurred Monday afternoon on bus ride from the elementary school.
The Alexandria Police Department charged a 10-year-old city resident with brandishing a weapon following an incident involving a toy gun Monday afternoon on a bus ride from Douglas MacArthur Elementary School. Alexandria City Public Schools notified police of the incident Tuesday morning. No one was injured in the incident. According to a release from ACPS, the student showed the toy weapon to other students during the bus ride. Police officers went to the elementary school at 1101 Janneys Ln. early Tuesday morning and met with administrators before the student’s arrival. Upon the fifth-grader's entrance into the school, the student was stopped and found to be in possession of a gun in his backpack, according to a release from the …
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1101 Janneys Ln, Alexandria, VA
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Edmund Lewis
8:34 pm on Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Was having the Superintendent there worth the time of the MacArthur parents? There is an upcoming meeting regarding safety and security (it is only 4 months after the tragedy in Connecticut) on March 19 @ 7PM at TC. You and other members of the MacArthur community should attend the TC meeting to see if what is presented there matches with what you were told at your meeting. Well your 15 minutes … more ›