Office of Safety and Security Services

Each school will have 30 minutes of designated time daily in which students will receive social-emotional learning.  Structures such as community circles will be used to deliver the RULER curriculum from the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence and reinforce positive behavior interventions and supports.  Each school’s Student Support Team will also provide more targeted and intensive small group and individual interventions to students identified through their school’s Multi Tiered System of Support (MTSS) process.  Students will also be assessed using the Devereux Student Strengths Assessment (DESSA) social-emotional tool to identify and grow individual and collective strengths.

Regularly scheduled preventative maintenance of public announcement (PA) systems and phone systems have occurred over the summer, and school communications systems are being replaced throughout the year. In addition, cellular service has been expanded throughout the Alexandria City High School (ACHS) King St. Campus.

Each school will designate entrances specific for student, staff and visitor entry.  This practice will allow for better control regarding facility access.

As a reminder to all students, staff and community members, ACPS campuses are closed campuses. “Closed Campus” means that students are not allowed to come and go without permission , including during lunch time. All criteria  for early dismissal are required to be followed through the attendance offices. Any students found leaving campus during the school day who are not in compliance with attendance requirements will have interventions with school administration.

In an effort to reinforce a safety best-practice, we are requiring all students at the secondary level (middle and high school) to have their student identification present with them every day. This practice will allow building administration and security officers to ensure that only registered students are accessing the campus during instructional hours.

We are also piloting a digital student identification (ID) program at the high school campuses; this program will allow students the option of using a traditional or digital ID (stored on a smartphone/smart device) to scan into school upon entry. A soft launch of the digital student ID program will occur during the first few weeks of school.  The digital ID is not required, and you can opt your student out of the digital ID program by notifying the appropriate school administrator. Information on obtaining/activating IDs will be shared in a separate communication to families and students from ACHS leadership.

All secondary school locations will receive additional school security officers (SSOs) to support school administrators.

We will maintain the staggered dismissal process at Alexandria City High School (ACHS) King Street and Minnie Howard campuses throughout the 2022-23 academic year. This practice was successfully implemented at the end of the 2021-22 school year and reduces the volume of student congregation within the facility and the amount of  students exiting the facility simultaneously.

The leadership teams at all campuses of ACHS have reviewed the logistics of the  instructional day and made changes that help support continuous safety improvement. 

At the Minnie Howard and King Street Campuses, students will still have schedules that have up to eight classes. The lunch block will be restricted to certain spaces on campus and include time for students to eat lunch, participate in social-emotional and academic learning, participate in advisory periods and be a part of clubs and organizations. The lunch block will have staff supervision throughout the campuses and include outdoor eating spaces on campus as well as student activities.

Any students taking classes at multiple campuses will be transported by ACPS Transportation Services. The only time students may be leaving early or arriving late to school is if they have a pre-approved schedule that designates early release or late arrival (i.e. - no morning or no afternoon classes). 

As a reminder, all ACPS staff are required to visibly display their badge while in schools, Central Office and/or ACPS-owned properties. This best practice allows administration and school security officers to easily identify staff or visitors who are in school facilities or on school grounds.