Alexandria Students Go Back To School
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(Tuesday) September 7, 2010
School buses waiting outside Jefferson-Houston Elementary School on the first day of the 2010-2011 school year. (Photo: James Cullum)
By Carla Branch and Alex Hampl
alexandrianews.org
Summer came to an end for the more than 11,000 students who attend Alexandria City Public schools. This morning, school bells rang and students began another year of school.
T. C. Williams High School opened its doors with a new principal, a new administrative structure and with a federal and state mandate to improve student achievement. Last March, the school was designated a Persistently Lowest Achieving school and developed a three-year transformational plan, which was approved by the Virginia Department of Education this summer. T. C. will receive up to $2 million in additional funding a year to put that plan into effect.
Trav Clark is beginning his senior year. “It’s definitely exciting but I’m sure I will miss T. C. when it’s all done,” he said.
Madeline Long is a junior. “I heard that the private security people are still going to be there and I’m nervous that it’s going to be a really strict school year,” she said.
Students at T.C. Williams High School welcomed the new school year with optimism. (Photo: James Cullum)
Parents, community members and other volunteers welcomed the students back to school with banners and pencils. “We’re throwing a welcome back celebration for the students. The PTSA put this on with help from the student leadership program under the direction of Mary Ellen McCormick. We’re just really excited to have the kids back in school,” said PTSA President Catherine Clinger.
Jefferson Houston opened the school year with its first seventh-grade class. The school is in the second year of implementing its K-8 Primary Years Program, the elementary school equivalent of the International Baccalaureate Program. According to Jefferson Houston Principal Kimberley Graves, there are 36 sixth-graders and 18 seventh-graders, with more students registering today.
Four elementary schools began the year with new principals. Gene May began his tenure at John Adams today. May was most recently the principal at Troutman Elementary School in the Iredell-Statesville, North Carolina School District which won the national Malcolm Baldrige Quality Award two years ago. Dr. Rosario Casiano is the new principal at William Ramsay.
On July 26, Kevin West was named George Mason Elementary School’s new principal. West previously served as principal at Canyon Ridge School in Surprise, Ariz. He also has served as an assistant principal at Canyon Ridge School, an assistant principal at Coyote Hills Elementary School in Peoria, Ariz., and as an instructional specialist. West also has been a fifth-grade and an eighth-grade teacher in Fairfax, Va. He holds a Master’s Degree in Elementary Education from Marymount University and a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from James Madison University.
While not a newcomer to ACPS, Dawn Feltman is new as the principal at Patrick Henry Elementary School. Feltman became principal of George Mason in 2007 after serving at Mount Vernon Community School as acting principal from September to November of 2006 and as assistant principal starting in 2004. Feltman has been an employee of ACPS for 11 years. She received a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education/Early Childhood from Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania and a Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership from George Mason University. She has extensive knowledge on inclusive classrooms, modified calendar, dual language, ELL (English Language Learners) programs, Instructional Support Teams and shared decision making.
A Jeff-Houston student walking to school on Tuesday morning. (Photo: James Cullum)
For the second year, there are five, rather than two, middle schools, two at George Washington and three at Francis C. Hammond. While all five schools were accredited last year, none made Adequate Yearly Progress under the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
Melynda Wilcox is the president of the GW PTA. “The atmosphere when I arrived at 8:30 this morning might be described as calm commotion, with the emphasis much more on calm than commotion,” she said. “The PTA had a great turnout at our breakfast for parents. The PTA’s goals for the coming year are to continue to improve communication and information flow between the school, parents and teachers. We’ll also be working on sharing news and information with the broader community so that city residents will know more about the great things that are happening at GW.
“We’re also going to help provide volunteers and organizational assistance to the school’s tutoring program, and as always, we will be raising money for the programs that we offer students and families and the support that we provide to the faculty and staff. Our first PTA meeting is tonight, and ACPS Superintendent Morton Sherman will be our guest speaker,” Wilcox said.
School Board Chair Yvonne Folkerts visited T.C., GW, and Douglas MacArthur Elementary School. “This is a day of so many emotions and so many logistics. From what I observed, our first day of school was going smoothly,” she said. “I began my day joining TC Williams parents outside the front doors of the school for a “pep rally” with signs, banners and pencils. I saw plenty of students smiling, which is a great sign. I also stopped by one of our middle schools and one of our elementary schools. Principals reported buses were running on time and students were navigating their way through the first day of school.”
