What public schools make possible

By Former School Board Chair Michelle Rief, Ph.D.

Republished with permission from The Alexandria Times

This week, after serving three years as chair of the Alexandria City School Board, I will hand the gavel to one of my colleagues and continue serving as a member of the Board. Serving as chair has been one of the greatest honors of my life.

The work is demanding and the challenges are real, but what will stay with me most is not the complexity of the job – it is what our community makes possible when we invest in our children together.

My journey with Alexandria City Public Schools began 14 years ago, when my oldest child started kindergarten. Like many parents, I arrived with equal parts excitement and uncertainty. I soon found myself in the PTA – first as a volunteer, then in leadership.

I joined the School Board in 2019, just months before the pandemic, and became chair in 2023. Those years have given me an extraordinary window into the daily operations of our schools and a deep respect for the people who make them work.

ACPS serves more than 15,700 students representing 118 countries and speaking 127 languages. More than one-third receive English Learner services, half qualify for free or reduced-price meals and nearly 2,000 receive special education services.

Behind every number is a child with a distinct story, strengths and needs. Meeting those needs requires skill, patience and sustained commitment from the adults who support them. More than 2,600 employees make that possible every day.

They teach, coach, drive buses, serve meals, counsel students and provide essential support to keep schools safe and welcoming.

Each spring, we honor the service of these dedicated professionals at our retirement ceremony. This year, 47 employees were recognized for a combined 1,146 years of service to Alexandria’s children.

What stays with me most are the students – and the ways our schools shape their lives.

One member of the Class of 2026 spent part of his childhood in foster care. He described a teacher at Patrick Henry K-8 School as “like a mom,” and credited her, along with his teachers at Alexandria City High School, with helping him begin to see his own potential. This spring, he graduated with a full college scholarship. In his words, he is “breaking the cycle” for his family.

For some students, ACPS and its partners open pathways where poverty, trauma and doubt begin to give way to possibility. Organizations like NoVA RAFT, Cornerstone Craftsman and the Scholarship Fund of Alexandria help students overcome barriers, find direction and pursue their goals – whether that means college or career pathways.

Just outside the recently modernized Minnie Howard Campus stands a historical marker honoring the five young Black students who integrated the formerly all-white Minnie Howard Elementary School in 1960. It is a quiet reminder that many of the opportunities available today were secured through courage, persistence and long struggles to expand them.

Over the past several years, I have come to see public education as one of the most ambitious collective undertakings a community can pursue. Every day, educators, staff, families and partners work together so that every child – regardless of where they were born, the language they speak at home or the challenges they face – has the chance to learn, grow and thrive.

As we celebrated our nation’s 250th birthday last week, few institutions better reflect the promise of American democracy than our public schools. They bring together children from every background and ask us to collectively invest in one another’s success, reminding us that the strength of a community is measured not by what we achieve alone, but by what we make possible together.

As I step down from the role of chair, I remain deeply convinced that public education is among the most important investments our community can make – in our young people, our shared aspirations and the future we are building together. This responsibility belongs to all of us.