Ethan Gotsch

Editor

The second principal’s chat of the 2021-22 school year was held on December 8. Principal Peter Balas started the meeting by recapping exciting events such as the visit from Governor Ralph Northam, the start of winter sports, and the concerts by the band, orchestra, and choir program.

One topic discussed was the new late work policy instituted by the School Board known as IKC-R. According to the new policy, there will be a one-week grace period after an assignment is due with no grade penalty. Additionally, if missing work is due to a verified absence or quarantine, that work can be submitted at any time until the last two weeks of the quarter during which it was assigned without a grade penalty. However, if the missing work is not due to a verified absence or quarantine and the work is not turned in during the one-week grace period, the assignment can still be submitted any time before the last two weeks of the quarter, but that assignment can only receive a maximum grade of an 80 percent.

IKC-R also allows for an automatic opportunity to reassess a quiz or test that received a grade of a D or less any time before the last two weeks of the quarter. The revised assessment can get a maximum grade of 80 percent.

Balas announced new staff coming to the Alexandria City High School system in January. A new assistant principal will be coming to the King Street campus to replace Alexander Duncan, who will be transferring to the role of campus administrator for Minnie Howard. There will also be a new treasurer coming in January, a position that has been vacant since September.

A Capital BikeShare station was recently added to the King Street campus. The station is located up against the visitor parking area in the main circle by the school entrance.

On the previous day, December 7, there had been an incident involving threats on social media targeted towards the Minnie Howard campus. According to Balas, “we were able to act immediately with the police department, our SROs, and our safety/security team within ACPS to quickly get to the bottom of that story and make sure everything was safe and secure for students to go to school [on December 8].”

One question brought up was the status of school dances such as the winter formal and prom. King Street campus administrator Carmen Sanders, who was substituting in for Balas at the time, confirmed that a prom would be happening in some shape or form. Additionally, the ACHS administration would be meeting with student leadership sometime in the near future to discuss and come up with a proposal for winter formal.

The next principal’s chat will be held on Wednesday, January 26. Parents can access the principal’s chat through the ACPS PTA website, as well as the PTA crier.

Photo courtesy of Ethan Gotsch