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Gregory S. Hutchings Jr., head of public schools in the city of Alexandria, will resign at the end of the summer, the school district announced on Friday.
Hutchings, who has served in the role for nearly four years, said in an interview Thursday that he was leaving his job to run an educational consulting firm that recently founded Revolutionary ED, dedicated to eliminating systemic racism in US states. schools.
Hutchings and Alexandria School Board Chair Megan Alderton said in separate interviews Thursday that the principal’s resignation was neither desired nor requested by the school board.
“I think as a board we are definitely sad to see him go,” Alderton said. “However, Dr. Hutchings, he still has a lot of work to do. So we respect that. “
Hutchings, 45, said he felt sad that he was leaving Alexandria, the school system he had once been a student of and had long wanted to lead. But the pursuit of anti-racist work in Alexandria has led him to believe it is time to apply his talent to similar challenges in schools across the country, he said.
“As we have been on this anti-racist journey for the last few years, it has really sparked more interest in my advocacy to continue this anti-racist journey beyond Alexandria,” he said. “I go out of the faith to empower and protect her on a larger scale than here alone.”
The school board has known about Hutchings’ impending departure for some time, Alderton said. But Hutchings made a formal announcement – and his resignation was formally accepted by the board – at a special meeting on Friday morning.
Hutchings’ last day of work will be August 31. Alderton said the school district would work to appoint a temporary superintendent as soon as possible, and then a national search would begin for Hutchings’ permanent successor.
Hutchings’ mandate was partly defined by the coronavirus pandemic – as was the case with superintendents across the country. Hutchings observed an almost overnight transition to online learning in March 2020, before slowly directing students back to hybrid and then fully personal learning.
Hutchings’ pandemic response was marked by comprehensively detailed presentations and updates of school coronavirus data, health initiatives and reopening plans. Several discussions on the school board heated up, but Alexandria was generally much less shocked and frustrated about online learning and pandemic safety policies than other areas – although some were upset by Hutchings’ decision to relocate either. children in a private school during the pandemic.
The head of Alexandria moved one of his two children to a private school
Hutchings also placed great emphasis on racial justice during his tenure. Under his leadership, Alexandria adopted a five-year strategic plan, Justice for All, in June 2020. The plan aimed to close the gaps in opportunities and achievements by 2025; he also called for a “justice policy audit” of all school policies in Alexandria to identify systemic racial inequalities.
Hutchings launched this audit in the 2020-2021 school year. Alexandria also conducted two studies on climate equality, in which students, staff and families shared their feelings about their experience in the school system. And the school district publishes a “justice management board” that allows members of the public to view real-time data on students’ academic and behavioral performance by race.
Asked about his proudest achievements in Alexandria, Hutchings pointed out all these developments stemming from the shareholding plan. He also mentioned the renaming of two schools, both of which were previously named after historical figures who maintained deep racist beliefs about black Americans.
“This ACPS 2025 Equity for All plan, I believe, prepares us for success and gives us a roadmap for eliminating systemic racism in public schools in Alexandria City,” Hutchings said.
Alderton also highlighted in particular the activities of the superintendent. But she pointed to other developments, including the fact that all schools in Alexandria received accreditation in 2019 for the first time in the division’s history and that Hutchings Alexandria in 2021 achieved its highest graduation rate (91 percent) and the lowest dropout rate (5 percent) since Virginia began reporting these figures in 2008.
She also praised his “really smooth” budgeting, noting that the operating budgets adopted by Alexandria under his leadership in 2022 and 2023 emphasize staff compensation.
“I just have to say that under Dr. Hutchings, I’ve seen such incredible growth in our school unit,” Alderton said. “I know he has the confidence that we can move this work forward.
Unlike some neighboring areas – especially public schools in Loudoun County – Alexandria has not seen significant parental anger at its racial justice initiatives. What has caused controversy is the long-running debate over the proper role of the police in schools.
When the Alexandrian students returned to class, the attacks increased. An off-campus student was stabbed.
In the spring of 2021, the city council of Alexandria voted to remove the police from schools in the city, against the will of the mayor and his senior officials. The following academic year saw a series of violent incidents when students returned to campus, many for the first time since the pandemic began.
Faced with parental criticism and concern, the council eventually turned and voted to reinstate police in schools. However, some violence continues; most recently, an 18-year-old high school student in Alexandria was fatally stabbed in a mall near campus.
In late April, the school board approved Hutchings’ proposal to set up an advisory group to rethink the relationship between schools and city police. Meanwhile, the board is asking for at least another year of funding for the school police, a request that the city council has not yet responded to as it is working on the budgeting process.
Prior to his senior position in the Alexandria School District, Hutchings worked as a superintendent in Shaker Heights, Ohio, and as a teacher, principal, and administrator in school systems scattered throughout Virginia and Tennessee. He holds a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary research from Old Dominion University, a master’s degree in educational leadership from George Mason University and a doctorate in educational policy from William & Mary.
The Hutchings contract, renewed in June 2021, was to expire in 2025.
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