Even on spring break, Monday has found a way to get Alexandria City Public Schools down: The state superintendent has blocked the small school system’s plan to start the school year earlier, the Alexandria Times reports.
Alexandria school officials hoped the extra calendar time would boost student learning time before state exams and help turn around T.C. Williams High School, which the state has named a consistent low-performer. Districts must request and receive a waiver from Virginia to start school before Labor Day.
But State Superintendent Patricia Wright ruled against the petition, which she said needed to address individual schools — not a district-wide effort. The request was shot down.
Alexandria Superintendent Morton Sherman told the local school board he was “dumbfounded” by the logic of the decision.
He said the state board, which has the final decision-making authority, would likely agree with Wright’s recommendation.
“The [state] board would want to work with her just as you would want to work with me,” Sherman said.
