Alexandria City Public School implemented new safety and security measures for the upcoming school year.

As the new school year begins, the Alexandria City Public School System is implementing new student-safety measures.

Updates and modifications will include specific daily time for student social-emotional learning, modernized school communications systems, improved facility access management, and new student and staff ID requirements.

Additional school security officers will be assigned to all secondary school locations. To control student volume, some institutions will also adopt staggered dismissal times. Students of all ages are also prohibited from leaving and returning to campus during the school day.

Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Gregory C. Hutchings, Jr. released this statement online:

“We are hard at work preparing to open up the school doors and return to teaching and learning. In keeping with our core value of being welcoming, part of that preparation includes an emphasis on student well-being, safety and security to ensure that our students feel welcomed, supported and safe in all of our school buildings.”

According to FOX 5’s Melanie Alnwick, two students were shot in off-campus confrontations in the fall of 2021, while another was caught with a pistol just outside the institution.

Another off-campus confrontation culminated in the stabbing death of senior Luis Mejia Hernandez just before graduation, prompting the reinstatement of school resource police for the spring semester.

Additional actions, according to the superintendent, will be taken if necessary. The partnership agreement between Alexandria City Police and school resource officers is still in effect through the end of the current school year.

Featured Picture Credit: (Photo by Matt McClain/The Washington Post)