ACPS Students Shine in PTA Reflections Art Competition

It was an outstanding showing for Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) students in the Reflections art contest, an annual nationwide parent-teacher association (PTA) arts competition. For the first time in recent years, ACPS had three entries recognized at the state level and one is moving forward to the national competition. 

George Washington Middle School sixth grader Ingrid Albers was awarded "Outstanding Interpretation" for Photography for her self-portrait and will compete at the national level, with winners announced on May 1, 2025. Alexandria City High School (ACHS) student Lola Jeanne Carpio received an "Award of Merit" for Photography in the state competition and Sadie Szamosfalvi an "Award of Merit" for Music Composition.

In all, more than 350 ACPS entries from 13 schools were submitted. As 53 entries advanced to the council level of the competition, 20 entries moved forward to the state level. This year's student-created theme was "Accepting Imperfection." Parent-Teacher Association Council (PTAC) President Catie Brownback said, “The ACPS parents’ organization thought it was a fantastic theme that could even be incorporated in potential social, emotional and academic learning (SEAL) about the value in making mistakes and learning from them.” 

A list of all honorees at the council level are posted on the PTAC website, along with their art. PTAC celebrated the students’ achievement during an event at the ACHS Minnie Howard Campus on Thu., March 13. 

Reflections is a nationwide PTA arts competition. It was started in 1969 by PTA parents advocating for the importance of arts education. Entries in the competition were submitted across six categories to include visual arts, photography, film production, dance choreography, music composition and literature.