On Wednesday, April 1, students with A lunch at the King Street campus were greeted by the screeches of a Peregrine falcon. One of many birds of prey native to Virginia, this falcon began picking up shorter students in its claws and flying off. School security has not been able to find its nest, but it is suspected to be on school grounds.
As of 5 p.m. on April 1, there are still 3 freshmen trapped under a table in the cafeteria, unable to leave due to the presence of the falcon. ACPS is deploying more security guards in an attempt to rescue these students, but they haven’t been able to get past administrators at the cafeteria door demanding they show their Minga I.D.
“We have no clue how this bird could’ve gotten in,” said ACPS administrator Humphrey Nattochdag. “He somehow entered the cafeteria without having the proper Minga badge. We will be deducting Minga points from his account for this violation.”
In 2024, ACPS enacted a policy that adds a “not a bird of prey” badge to student Minga IDs that is typically checked before entering the cafeteria. Students who fail to produce this badge when requested are sent to their academy office, but birds of prey are beginning to find loopholes to this measure.
“This isn’t an isolated incident,” said Arsenio Billingsworth, the newly appointed head of zoologic security at ACHS. “I’m getting reports that other falcons are getting into the cafeteria using screenshots of someone else’s Minga badge.
The department of zoologic security vows to decrease the amount of bird attacks from the average of 12 from the past two years down to four, starting in the 2027-2028 school year.
In response to the unprecedented increase in bird attacks this school year, the Alexandria school board has proposed making a lunch block specifically for the newly built Peregrine falcon nests. The falcons would be allowed to feed on students skipping class in the hallways instead of those in their proper lunch block.
“This plan addresses our two biggest problems,” said the administrator. “This will finally motivate students to get to class, and it will protect properly behaving students in the cafeteria. We understand the concerns over the half hour increase in the school day, but this time will be necessary to create a safer learning environment.”
