Recruitment Season Is Underway! Join Our Efforts as a Recruitment Ambassador

While our team at Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) recruits year round, we ramp up our efforts as the new school year approaches. We believe all staff members and families are part of our recruitment team and we ask you to join us as a recruitment ambassador by identifying talented members of your network and encouraging them to take a look at ACPS as their next career move. Here are some of the efforts that we have undertaken at this point in the year: 

Licensed Hiring Fair and Recruitment Events

Last month, we hosted our annual Licensed Hiring Fair, with 35 interview panels (in-person and Zoom) and over 175 pre-vetted and approved registrants. Principals have already selected many candidates who attended this event, and continue to submit hiring requests from this pool as recruitment and outreach take place at a high level in preparation for the 2024-25 school year.

Representatives from the ACPS Department of Human Resources have attended or hosted nearly 30 events thus far this season, with another dozen scheduled.

Additionally, ACPS launched our partnership with iTeach in February, establishing another pipeline for professionals who switch careers to enter teaching roles in our school division. The ACPS partnership with George Washington University is another important recruitment program that focuses on specialized instruction and there will be an information session later this month on the opportunities offered to potential job candidates. We are also exploring a partnership with VCU and the residency program in the VCU School of Education.

Human Resources Support for the Academies at Alexandria City

ACPS goes the extra mile to recruit and retain high quality teachers for our classrooms so that we can provide an excellent education for all of our students. As we continue to do outreach and meet potential candidates for ACPS, we must keep in mind the needs of our students and the curriculums being offered. Given the newly developed Academies at Alexandria City for 2024-25, our Human Resources team has adjusted recruiting efforts to ensure that qualified teachers are available for these small learning communities that will provide specialized learning paths and core content themes. Student interest will help inform the types of courses to be offered at Alexandria City High School (ACHS) campuses.

Summary of ACHS Master Schedule Process to Gather Course Interest

The master schedule process to support the Academies at Alexandria City started with the first step with the academic advisement period, which began in December. Overall, the process that students were engaged in consisted of the following: 

• Student Self Discovery Assessment
  • Students completed a Strengths Explorer assessment in Naviance. This assessment assisted students with aligning careers to their strengths.
• Virtual Academic Fair shared online information and was promoted through ACPS Express.
• Classroom Advisory Presentations used Powerpoint and voiceovers to walk families through the academic advisement process.
• Academic Orientation and Curriculum Nights welcomed parents and students to the ACHS King Street Campus in January. This annual event served as the official kick-off for the academic advisement and course selection process for the 2024-25 school year. 

The scheduled timeline in developing the master schedule is as follows: 

• January 29-March 14: Students met with counselors during specific class periods throughout this timeframe. Those who had completed one-on-one academic advisement meetings could update their course requests with school counselors via email. 
• April 2-May 1: School leaders will collaborate on developing teacher assignments.
• May 3: Course requests will be shared with students and their families to review and make adjustments based on open/closed classes due to enrollment.
• May 24: Deadline to submit course request changes.
• August 7-15: School counselors will communicate with families regarding hard schedule conflicts and share options. Student-selected alternates will be used in most cases.
• August 21-24: School counselors will support students in the following categories: those who were not scheduled for a core class they selected during academic advising; those who were scheduled for a class they previously passed; and those who were placed in the wrong level (i.e. regular, honors or advanced placement) of a course based on initial course requests.
• August 28-29: Students may meet with counselors to determine if an elective change can be accommodated if the student was not scheduled for a class they selected in the spring between January 29 and May 24. Elective changes will not be made after these dates.

It takes all of us to make sure that all of our schools are filled with a highly-qualified team to serve our students and deliver on our promise of a great education that prepares them for life, college and career. Share the following links with anyone you think would be a great fit for ACPS:

• ACPS Webpage: https://www.acps.k12.va.us/departments/human-resources/employment-opportunities
• ACPS Recruitment Videos: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOmpI-FEr01QbPw1U9EXLKgLKSfJiesVh