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Alexandria City Public Schools Superintendent Gregory C. Hutchings Jr. will step down in late summer, the school district announced Friday.
Hutchings, who has been in the role for nearly four years, said in an interview Thursday that he will leave the job of running a newly founded educational consulting firm called Revolutionary ED, which aims to dismantle systemic racism in public schools. Americans.
Hutchings and Alexandria School Board President Meagan Alderton said in separate interviews Thursday that the superintendent’s resignation was neither desired nor requested by the school board.
“I think as a board we’re definitely sad to see him leave,” Alderton said. “However, Dr. Hutchings, you only have so much more to do. So I respect that.”
Hutchings, 45, said he was saddened to leave Alexandria, which is the school system in which he was a student and for a long time wanted to lead as superintendent. But continuing to work against racism in Alexandria led him to believe it was time to apply his talent to similar challenges in schools across the country, he said.
“As we have been on this journey against racism for the last few years, it has really sparked more interest in advocacy for me to continue on this anti-racist journey beyond Alexandria,” he said. “I’m taking a step toward faith to … empower and advocate on a larger scale than just here.”
The school board has known about Hutchings’ imminent departure for some time, Alderton said. But Hutchings gave formal notice – and his resignation was formally accepted by the board – at a special meeting Friday morning.
Hutchings’ last working day will be August 31st. Alderton said the school district will work to appoint an interim superintendent as soon as possible and then begin a nationwide search for Hutchings’ permanent successor.
Hutchings’ term was defined in part by the coronavirus pandemic, as was the case with superintendents across the country. Hutchings oversaw an almost day-to-day transition to online learning in March 2020, before slowly guiding students back into hybrid learning and then fully face-to-face.
Hutchings’ pandemic response was marked by thoroughly detailed presentations and updates on school district coronavirus data, health initiatives, and reopening plans. A good handful of school board discussions stalled, but Alexandria in general experienced far less agitation and frustration with e-learning and pandemic security policies than other districts, although some were upset by Hutchings’ decision to move one of his two children to a private school during the pandemic. .
The superintendent of Alexandria changes one of his two children into a private school
Hutchings also placed a strong focus on racial justice during his tenure. Under his leadership, Alexandria adopted a five-year strategic plan “Equity for All” in June 2020. The plan was to eliminate the gaps in opportunities and achievements by 2025; he also called for an “equity policy audit” of all Alexandria school policies to identify systemic racial inequalities.
Hutchings launched this audit in the 2020-2021 school year. Alexandria has also conducted two equity climate surveys, in which students, staff and families shared their feelings about their experiences in the school system. And the school district has released an “equity board” that allows members of the public to review real-time data on student academic and behavioral performance by racial groupings.
Asked about his proudest achievements in Alexandria, Hutchings noted all these developments stemming from the equity plan. He also mentioned the renaming of two schools, which previously bore the names of historical figures who had deeply racist beliefs about black Americans.
“This ACPS 2025 Equity for All plan, I believe, is preparing us for success and gives us the roadmap we need to dismantle systemic racism in Alexandria city public schools,” Hutchings said.
Alderton also highlighted the superintendent’s equity work in particular. But he also noted other advances, including the fact that all schools in Alexandria were accredited in 2019 for the first time in the history of the division and that under Hutchings, Alexandria in 2021 achieved its one-time graduation rate. highest (91%). and the lowest dropout rate (5%) since Virginia began reporting this data in 2008.
He also praised his “really perfect” budget, noting that the operating budgets adopted by Alexandria under his leadership in 2022 and 2023 emphasized employee compensation.
“I just have to say that under the leadership of Dr. Hutchings, I have seen such amazing growth in our school division,” Alderton said. “I know he’s confident we can get this job done.”
Unlike some neighboring districts, especially Loudoun County Public Schools, Alexandria has not seen significant anger from parents for its racial justice initiatives. What has generated controversy is a debate over the years about the proper role of the police in schools.
As Alexandria students returned to class, assaults increased. Off campus, a student was stabbed.
In the spring of 2021, Alexandria City Council voted to withdraw police from the city’s schools, against the wishes of the superintendent and his top officials. The following school year saw a series of violent incidents as students returned to campus, many of them for the first time since the pandemic began.
Faced with criticism and parental concern, the council eventually backed down and voted in favor of restoring police in schools. Some violence has continued, however; recently an 18-year-old Alexandria City High School student was stabbed to death in a mall near campus.
In late April, the school board approved a proposal from Hutchings to establish an advisory group that will work to reimagine the relationship between schools and city police. Meanwhile, the board is asking for at least one more year of funding for the school’s police, a request that the city council has yet to respond to as it works on its budget process.
Prior to his first job in the Alexandria School District, Hutchings served as Superintendent in Shaker Heights, Ohio, as well as working as a teacher, principal, and administrator in schools throughout Virginia and Tennessee. He holds a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies from Old Dominion University, a master’s degree in educational leadership from George Mason University and a doctorate in educational policy from William & Mary.
Hutchings’ contract, renewed in June 2021, was due to expire in 2025.