We Voted: What the New ACPS Boundaries and Policies Mean for Families
- Kelly Carmichael Booz
- Jun 19
- 5 min read
June 19, 2025
By: Members of the Strategy and Accountability Committee: Kelly Carmichael Booz (District B), Christopher Harris (District C), and Ryan Reyna (District A
After many months of meetings, maps, modeling, and extensive community feedback, the Alexandria City School Board has officially voted on redistricting. At the June 12 meeting, the Board adopted a new elementary boundary map, a revised middle school assignment plan, and a complete set of companion policies to guide implementation.
This marks the end of one phase and the beginning of another.
Here’s what you need to know about what was decided, how it will be implemented, and what comes next.
What We Voted On
The School Board voted to adopt:
Triangle 3 as the new elementary school boundary map
Option E as the new middle school boundaries.
A comprehensive set of redistricting-related policies and regulations, including updated guidance on deferrals, transfers, transportation, class sizes, and enrollment management
These changes will take effect starting in fall 2026, with some policy changes starting in fall 2025.
Triangle 3: Elementary Boundary Map
The Board voted unanimously to support Triangle 3. Triangle 3 shifts boundaries to better balance enrollment, minimize overutilization, and support demographic alignment across the city. It makes small but meaningful adjustments to the West End, reduces the concentration of economically disadvantaged students in certain schools, and prepares George Mason Elementary for full use once the new building opens in 2027.
Key difference from Triangle 2: Triangle 3 expands the George Mason boundary slightly further west, boosting long-term utilization at the new school and creating a stronger peer cohort, but requires more careful phasing during the swing space year.
Option E: Middle School Assignments
The Board selected Middle School Option E by a vote of 7–2. No middle school option solves our capacity challenges. While redistricting alone can’t solve Alexandria’s middle school capacity crunch, Option E offers a more balanced utilization across all four middle school campuses, without major disruption, recognizing that further changes may occur with future capacity investments.
Option B maintained the current middle school lines but removed the feeder school approach.
Option C (which drew a new boundary at Quaker Lane) provided more balance but created greater disruption.
Option E reflects a compromise with Option B, by reducing the school boundary lines for grades 6-8 at Patrick Henry and increasing the school boundary lines for grades 6-8 at Jefferson-Houston.
Policy Decisions
The Board also approved the full set of revised policies that guide the implementation of these new boundaries.
Key Highlights:
Deferrals
Rising 5th graders in the fall of 2026 may stay at their current elementary school. Their siblings may also stay for that one additional year.
Rising 6th and 7th graders in the fall of 2025 will be able to finish their middle school education at their current middle school for their 7th and 8th grade years, when the new middle school boundaries take effect starting in the fall of 2026.
Programmatic Transfers & Dual Language Siblings
The final policy maintains sibling preference, rather than guaranteed placement, for families seeking to join dual-language programs, as long as space is available and the school's building utilization remains under the projected 110% for new kindergarten classes.
Although a proposed amendment for a permanent sibling exception did not pass, staff confirmed that Mount Vernon’s projected kindergarten utilization is 95% for the fall of 2025, leaving room for some siblings and other opt-in students.
Capacity Transfers Ended
Students will no longer be reassigned from their neighborhood school due to overcrowding, a practice that has disproportionately impacted English Learners and students with disabilities, especially on the West End of the city.
Class Size and Planning Factors
ACPS will maintain reasonable class size targets while allowing flexibility to handle one-year enrollment changes, shifting away from rigid caps.
Transportation
Families living in a school walk zone can now request transportation if space is available, offering more flexibility while prioritizing eligible riders.
Future Enrollment Adjustments
A new policy provides tools for limited-scope redistricting, option areas, and other solutions to adjust as the city grows, without needing another major redistricting cycle immediately.
Swing Space Phasing & Deferrals
To prevent overcrowding in the George Mason swing space in 2026–27, the Board approved:
Phased implementation: Four study areas (two each from Charles Barrett and Jefferson-Houston) will remain in their current schools until 2027. It will also allow rising 5th graders in 2027 to complete their education at their current elementary school, rather than moving to George Mason in their 5th-grade year.
Expanded deferral: All rising 4th graders at Douglas MacArthur in 2026 can remain through 5th grade, ensuring continuity during a complex transition year. The draft policy allowed for only a small group of rising 4th graders to receive this deferral at MacArthur.
“If we were to defer everyone, MacArthur would hit 136% utilization. We can’t do that. This approach helps us plan responsibly and still support students.”— Board Member Ryan Reyna
What’s Next
Now that we’ve voted, ACPS staff will begin implementation. That includes:
Identifying impacted students
Notifying families
Creating a transportation and communication plan
Preparing for deferral requests (due January 15, 2026)
Supporting transitions in 2026–27 and full implementation in fall 2027
The Redistricting Steering Committee will transition into the RIT, Redistricting Implementation Team, to lead this next phase.
At the same time, the Board made clear that redistricting alone won’t solve our middle school capacity challenges—and that serious conversations must begin this fall with City Council.
“We can’t keep dancing around it. Middle school was always on the table because we knew we needed to solve the utilization challenge. And while I walked into this thinking we’d make significant middle school boundary changes, it became clear as we got the data that redistricting alone wouldn’t get us there. Now, we need to move urgently on capacity. That means having real conversations with Council this fall. If it’s accelerating Jefferson-Houston, if it’s Cora Kelly, if it’s something else entirely, we need to be open to pivoting our CIP plan. But what’s not okay is pretending this problem can wait.”— Board Member Kelly Carmichael Booz
Staff is also exploring the use of relocatable classrooms (trailers) as a short-term solution to help ease pressure at overcrowded middle schools. But those are not a substitute for permanent space. Even with trailers, students still need access to cafeterias, libraries, gyms, and other shared resources and spaces, none of which expand when a parking lot or a field becomes a classroom.
The bottom line: middle school space remains a top priority. And the work to address it must begin now, and in collaboration with the City Council.
Final Reflections
This process wasn’t easy.
Saying to families, “You may need to move schools,” is hard. Navigating enrollment projections, logistics, and equity impacts is hard. But we did the work in public, in partnership, and with purpose.
“This has been a difficult process... But we knew that we had to do this now. The work we did is going to be a foundation to build upon. And I believe we all grew throughout this entire process.” — Board Member Chris Harris
To every family who emailed the board, attended a meeting, spoke from the heart, or followed along quietly, thank you. Your voice mattered. You helped shape a more thoughtful, transparent, and community-driven plan.
This is just the beginning. But the foundation is stronger for what we built together.
Onward.
Kelly Carmichael Booz, District B
Chair, ACPS Redistricting Steering Committee
Vice Chair, ACPS School Board
Chris Harris, District C
Vice Chair, ACPS Redistricting Steering Committee
ACPS School Board Member
Ryan Reyna, District A
ACPS Redistricting Steering Committee Member
ACPS School Board Member
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