Project ADAM Recap

Mount Vernon Community School (MVCS) officially earned Project ADAM designation for being a heart safe school, making MVCS one of the first schools in Northern Virginia to receive this recognition. Dr. John R. Phillips, pediatric cardiologist from the Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU and the medical director of the Virginia Affiliate to Project ADAM, presented MVCS with an official banner to commemorate this milestone during a gathering at the school on Wed., Oct. 22, 2025. 

Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) Superintendent Dr. Melanie Kay-Wyatt, MVCS Principal Jennifer Hamilton, ACPS Director of School Health Services Holly Jackson, along with MVCS students and staff, were in attendance as this banner was unveiled during the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Awareness Month presentation.

Proper equipment, training and an ongoing plan — that is what it takes to increase one’s chances of saving a life when sudden cardiac arrest occurs. Beginning July 1, 2025, Virginia Law HB 1695/ SB 817 requires public elementary and secondary schools to develop and implement a cardiac emergency response plan. 

Project ADAM is an organization that assists schools and communities in establishing cardiac emergency response plans to place into action in the event of a sudden cardiac arrest. Through Project ADAM, schools, sporting programs and community sites can become Heart Safe, with the equipment and training needed to be prepared and respond during those first critical minutes.