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ALEXANDRIA, Va. - All Alexandria City Public Schools will be closed on Wednesday, March 8, due to the observance of "International Women’s Day" or "A Day Without Women," the school district announced on Monday.
Alexandria City Public Schools superintendent Alvin Crawley said more than 300 staff members requested Wednesday off, and because of that, they have decided to close for the day. Wednesday will now be a “teacher work day for ACPS staff.”
The school system said, “This is not a decision that was made lightly. We have been closely monitoring requests for leave on March 8, including communicating with school leaders and our education association. The decision is based solely on our ability to provide sufficient staff to cover all our classrooms, and the impact of high staff absenteeism on student safety and delivery of instruction."
School officials said their decision was not based on a political stance or position.
The news release also said students will not be required to make up the instructional day. Additionally, the school system has apologized for the impact it will have on families.
Alexandria City Public Schools Full Alert:
It has come to our attention that as of today, more than 300 staff members have requested leave this Wednesday, March 8. Given the unusually high number of requests, this may be attributed to the observance of International Women’s Day. This day has also been deemed A Day Without Women. Consequently, ACPS has decided to close schools for students for the day. This day will be a teacher work day for ACPS staff. This is in addition to the teacher work day that is on Friday, March 10.
This is not a decision that was made lightly. We have been closely monitoring requests for leave on March 8, including communicating with school leaders and our education association. The decision is based solely on our ability to provide sufficient staff to cover all our classrooms, and the impact of high staff absenteeism on student safety and delivery of instruction. It is not based on a political stance or position.
Students will not be required to make up this instructional day. As this winter has not seen the usual snow accumulation across the region, we have sufficient days in the calendar to close on Wednesday without adversely affecting the number of teaching days required by the State.
We understand that when schools close there is an impact on families, who may have to find unanticipated childcare. We apologize for this unforeseen burden on parents and thank you for your patience and understanding.
- All Campagna Center Early Childhood Programs (Head Start, Early Head Start) and Campagna Kids After School programs will operate on the normal schedule. Campagna Kids Before School Program will be closed (Samuel Tucker and Polk Elementary School sites).
- All Rec programs at schools will continue to operate as usual.
- All ACPS scheduled after-school activities for March 8 will continue as planned.
ACPS will provide breakfast at 7:30 a.m. – 8:30 a.m. and lunch at 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. at:
- Patrick Henry Elementary School
- Jefferson-Houston School
- Cora Kelly School for Math, Science and Technology
- William Ramsay Elementary School
- Francis C. Hammond Middle School
- T.C. Williams High School
These programs are open to ALL students whether they attend that school or not. If you have questions regarding this decision please email the Office of Communications at news@acps.k12.va.us.
Thank you again for your patience and understanding while we work this through.
Yours sincerely,
Alvin L. Crawley, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools
Click here for a list of DC area school districts that plan to be open on International Women's Day.
Alexandria City Public Schools' decision drew over a thousand comments on the FOX 5 DC Facebook page: