A Virginia high school canceled in-person classes for the rest of the week after multiple “student conflicts” left students and staff injured.
In a Wednesday statement to the families of students at Alexandria City High School (ACHS), Superintendent Melanie Kay-Wyatt said students across all its campuses will participate in asynchronous instruction as a swift response to multiple altercations inside its King Street campus.
“I would also like to express how disheartening and concerning it was to learn about the unacceptable behaviors and actions taken by some of our students that resulted in injuries to staff and students,” she added.
Around noon on Tuesday, multiple fights broke out among students, Kay-Wyatt said, placing the building in a “hold status” for most of the day. The “hold status” meant students and staff could not enter or leave classrooms and hallways “to support security posturing.”
“Although these incidents involved a small number of students, such events are extremely disruptive to the educational environment and interrupt the focus on learning that our students deserve,” she wrote, adding “severe consequences” will be given for behavior that goes against the school system’s code of conduct.
All after-school activities on Wednesday, except for a 7:30 p.m. concert, were canceled.
Kay-Wyatt said that out of an abundance of caution, classes would be held online on Thursday, Dec. 19, and Friday, Dec. 20.
She added that she’s “actively working” on resolving the issues and working with “the ACHS administration team for the next two days to devise a plan for additional measures that will be implemented when teachers and staff return” in the new year.
Support for students and staff will be provided on Thursday and Friday at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. over Zoom.
It is not the first incident at the high school this year. According to online news outlet ALXNow, a fight broke out in October, leaving a 15-year-old student with an injured jaw.
An ACHS student was also stabbed in a fight at the Bradlee Shopping Center in 2022 and later died from his injuries. The incident came during a brawl that police said featured dozens of students at the time.
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