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ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The Alexandria City School Board unanimously elected Christopher Harris as its chair for the 2026-27 school year at its annual organizational meeting Thursday, elevating the District C representative from vice chair to the board's top leadership post.
Harris succeeds Dr. Michelle Rief, who had served as chair since 2023 and did not seek the position again. Rief presided over the start of Thursday's meeting, then handed the gavel to Chief Academic Officer Dr. Pierrette Finney — filling in as the superintendent's designee — to conduct the chair election. Board member Ryan Reyna nominated Harris, and no other members were nominated.
The board also elected Alexander Crider Scioscia as vice chair, also unanimously, on a nomination from Rief. Board leadership terms run one year, with the chair and vice chair elected by the board at each annual organizational meeting.
Harris takes over at an unsettled moment for the division. Superintendent Dr. Melanie Kay-Wyatt is on leave and set to retire Oct. 1, a national search for her successor is underway, and the division's first collective bargaining agreement remains unfinished. Chief of Staff Dr. Grace Taylor is serving as the primary designee running the division during Kay-Wyatt's leave.
In brief remarks after his election, Harris said he "did not pursue this position for a title" and pledged a collaborative approach. "I will listen. I will be fair. I will respect every board member. And I will lead," he said, adding that the community was "looking for steady leadership. Less division and more solutions. Less noise and more progress."
Scioscia, in accepting the vice chairmanship, thanked Rief for her work as chair and framed the leadership change as a fresh start. "When there's new leadership, I think it can signal one of three things: continuation, renewal or a reset," he said. "I see this as a renewal."
Both men highlighted a distinction they now share: for what they said may be the first time, the board and division are led by two graduates of the schools they oversee. Harris grew up in Old Town and attended Jefferson-Houston, William Ramsay, George Washington and what was then T.C. Williams High School before building a career and raising three ACPS graduates of his own. Scioscia, a 2017 graduate of the same high school, now renamed Alexandria City, went through George Mason and George Washington before it. "We've had different paths and different experiences within the school system," Scioscia said, "and that's part of the strength and perspective we bring to this board."
About the new leadership
Harris, a lifelong Alexandria resident, is serving his second term on the School Board representing District C. A Board Certified Safety Professional with a background in infrastructure safety and urban development, he served four years as president of the Alexandria branch of the NAACP and two terms on the Alexandria Human Rights Commission, one as vice chair. He has also spent seven years as a varsity football coach and substitute teacher at Alexandria City High School.
Harris earned degrees from Norfolk State University and National Louis University. On the board, he has served on the Strategy and Accountability committee and as the board's liaison to Councilman John Taylor Chapman.
Scioscia, who represents District B, works as the non-partisan assistant clerk for the U.S. Senate Budget Committee and previously served on the board's Budget Advisory Committee. He holds a bachelor's degree in political science and German from Lewis and Clark College and has served on the board's Operational Excellence committee.
The board and its calendar
The nine-member board is elected to three-year concurrent terms; all nine seats were last on the ballot in November 2024, and the next election is scheduled for November 2027, with members seated in January 2028. That concurrent structure is the subject of a City-ACPS committee, appointed recently, studying whether to move to staggered terms — though even if the state approved such a change, it could not take effect until 2030.
At Thursday's meeting, three members participated remotely — Kelly Carmichael Booz, Donna Kenley and Ashley Simpson Baird — while six attended in person. All nine voted for both Harris and Scioscia.
This story reflects the leadership elections held during Thursday's organizational meeting. The Alexandria Brief will report further on other items from the July 9 meeting as warranted.
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