Alexandria, Virginia — Northern Virginia’s largest high school has canceled the last two days of classes in 2024 after fights at the school led to injuries among students and staff.
Alexandria City Public Schools Superintendent Melanie Kay-Wyatt said in a letter to families Wednesday that classes would be canceled Thursday and Friday at the city’s only high school, Alexandria City High School, formerly known as TC Williams.
Kay-Wyatt said the closures were made because of concerns that additional fighting could occur on Thursday and Friday.
According to the Virginia High School League, the school has approximately 4,000 students, the largest student body of any public high school in the state.
When the high school was closed, students were transitioned to what the school system called “asynchronous instruction,” which meant students were expected to log in online and pick up assignments and instructional materials.
Kay-Wyatt did not specify in her letter the extent of injuries suffered by students and staff. A spokesperson for the school system declined to comment Thursday on the superintendent’s letter.
Alexandria police said two students were charged with assault and battery after school personnel responded to multiple altercations in the school hallways and cafeteria around noon Wednesday.
Police said they are aware of a student who left school with a parent to receive treatment at a clinic. They said a woman lying on the ground in a video clip shared on social media refused medical attention at the scene and refused to report the incident to police.
The city’s police chief, Tarrick McGuire, said in a written statement that “incitement to violence and disorder within a school is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.”
Kay-Wyatt called the incidents “disheartening” and said, “Our school community deserves better and counts on us to provide a safe place for teaching and learning.”
The school has been at the center of debate in recent years about whether police academy officers should be deployed. In 2021, the city council voted to defund the school resource supply, but changed course later that year after a series of fights and a lockdown that saw a student bring a gun to school.