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Parents and neighbors urge council to oppose Jefferson‑Houston conversion; call for broader planning
Summary
Dozens of residents, parents and community leaders urged the City Council to push back on the school board’s plan to convert Jefferson‑Houston from a preK‑8 community school into a middle school, citing community ties, Title I impacts and inadequate engagement by Alexandria City Public Schools.
Dozens of parents, teachers and longtime neighbors used the council’s public hearing to press elected officials to oppose the Alexandria School Board’s plan to convert Jefferson‑Houston Elementary from a preK–8 community model to a middle school, saying the change would uproot a Title I neighborhood school and worsen capacity problems elsewhere.
Speakers said the plan was rushed, did not include adequate community engagement and disproportionately affects students who are low income and Black. Several requested that the city council press the school board to pause the conversion and pursue alternatives, including a new middle school site that would relieve regional overcrowding without closing or repurposing Jefferson‑Houston.
Parents described Jefferson‑Houston as a…
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