Governor Ralph Northam took to the hallways of Alexandria City High School on December 6 to announce a proposal for a 10% teacher salary increase and affirm his support for Virginia public schools. Fellow local officials and policymakers, including Councilmember and Delegate-elect Elizabeth Bennett-Parker, ACHS Principal Peter Balas, and Superintendent Gregory C. Hutchings were present at the speech.

Select students lined the left side of the hallway, including representatives from the Black Student Union, the cast and crew of the autumn play Facing Our Truth: 10 Plays about Trayvon, Race, and Privilege, and the volleyball team. Awaiting the governor’s entrance, journalists peered into cameras and lined the hallways. Northam entered to applause. After speeches from Superintendent Gregory Hutchings and Principal Peter Balas, class of 2022 Questbridge National Match Scholarship Winner Abdelraman Aboud Abdelsadig introduced Governor Northam to the podium.

Northam began by acknowledging the weight of the pandemic on public schools and thanking educators and staff. He then touched on ACHS’s legacy, including acknowledging some of its prolific graduates, such as his Chief of Staff, Clark Mercer. He proceeded to explain the proposal, which would involve two 5% increases in pay over the next two years. The Virginia Secretary of Education went on to explain the Northam administration’s legacy in supporting education funding.

On the way out of the building, Northam discussed the importance of student civic engagement in political change. “I think the involvement students have is amazing,” he said. “[Students] are our future, so we want you to be involved. You have vision, great ideas, so the more that students can be involved and input to representatives, local officials…that’s all for the better.”

The governor repeated this announcement at two other Virginia schools: Westside Elementary School and Glen Allen High School.

Featured photo courtesy of Kamilah Lawson, from left to right: ACPS Superintendent Gregory C. Hutchings, Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates Eileen Filler-Corn, ACHS senior Abdelraman Aboud Abdelsadig, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam, Virginia House of Delegates Majority Leader Charniele Herring