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ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Seventy-eight parents RSVP'd. About 50 showed up Wednesday morning, filling tables in the rotunda at the King Street Campus — the event had already been moved from a smaller room to accommodate the demand.
That turnout — for a summer breakfast meeting with a brand-new principal — may say as much about Alexandria City High School families as anything Michael Burch said once he stood up and faced the room. But what he said was worth hearing.
Burch, who took over July 1 as ACHS's first permanent principal in a year, held the inaugural "Breakfast with Burch" at the King Street Campus, introducing himself to families, walking through the year ahead, and fielding questions for nearly an hour on everything from cell phones to outdoor lunch space to what it will take for him to be the leader ACHS has been waiting for.
He was direct, candid about what he doesn't know yet, and — on the question families have been asking through two permanent principals in three years — unambiguous when pressed by reporters after the event.
"It's my last job," he told The Alexandria Brief. "I've been here 16 years. I got roughly 8 to 10 more. I don't normally like to plan out, but this could be my last job. And that's what stability looks like."
A different kind of answer on turnover
ACHS has operated without a permanent principal since July 2025, when Alexander Duncan III left after two years to become principal of Washington-Liberty High School in Arlington. Duncan had himself replaced Peter Balas, who also departed for an Arlington school. Lance Harrell served as acting executive principal through the year and was thanked by the district at the June 11 school board meeting where Burch was formally approved.
Burch's answer on stability wasn't just a pledge. It was rooted in biography. He joined ACPS in 2010 and has spent his career inside the ACHS system — as a teacher, testing coordinator, assistant athletic director, assistant principal, and most recently lead administrator for operations and school improvement. He knows the building, the staff, the four campuses, the schedule, and the politics.
After the event, The Alexandria Brief asked Burch what he could see now as principal that he couldn't from his prior roles. His answer was telling.
"The good news about my trajectory is I've been in testing, I've been in athletics, I've been a teacher, I've been an assistant principal," he said. "In this role, it's how you put it all together. How does one decision affect athletics? How does one decision affect instruction? If you make a decision fiscally, how does it affect a teacher in a classroom or a student on a bus? It all comes together at the top."
Three priorities, plainly stated
Asked after the event by The Alexandria Brief for his elevator speech on priorities — beyond the operational issues of cell phones and attendance that dominated the morning — Burch didn't hesitate: increasing Tier 1 instruction, closing the achievement gap, and postsecondary readiness for every student.
"We have to serve the entire community," he said, "and the entire community needs different things. Some need to go to college, some need a job. We have to provide the continuum of service."
He pointed to signs of progress — SOL pass rates in reading, math and science all rose last year, with science up 13 points — while acknowledging persistent gaps. He described a new "single dashboard of truth" his team is building to track academic data, dean referrals, and MTSS support all in one place, so no student slips through unnoticed.
"Our goal is to look at every single meeting: what's working, what's being improved, so we can make changes quickly," he said.
Cell phones: 'Off, Away, All Day'
The cell phone policy drew the most pointed questions of the morning.
Gov. Abigail Spanberger rewrote the state's cell phone law this summer, tightening the language from "restricted" to "prohibited." The new law bans all personal electronic devices — phones, smartwatches, earbuds, speakers, even Meta glasses — from bell to bell. ACHS updated its policy earlier this month to match. The school's own framing: "Off, Away, All Day."
Burch was candid that the enforcement plan is still being developed. Deans, who return July 28, will be the primary enforcers. Lockers, academy offices, and other options are being weighed. There will be consequences for violations, escalating with each offense.
"I'm not trying to be vague," he said. "We still don't know exactly how we're going to do this." But he was firm that there would be no grace period in principle. "It's going to be a strict enforcement of this new state law," he said. "Every school, every high school in the state of Virginia."
He noted that even partial enforcement last year produced measurable results: fights — and videos of fights — dropped significantly after a softer version of the policy was introduced.
The ban extends to lunch, which Burch said creates an opportunity. "We can't be on our cell phones," he said. "Let's talk to your friends."
What 'hearing every voice' looks like
At a community Zoom meeting in May, Burch had said that meeting the needs of thousands of students requires hearing every voice. Asked by The Alexandria Brief what that looks like systemically across all four campuses, he offered more specifics.
Monthly Breakfast with Burch events will continue through the school year, with the next scheduled for Aug. 12. He said he also plans to send weekly updates via ParentSquare. A direct student forum, similar to one that existed under a prior principal, is being revived to give students a line to campus principals. Teacher input is being built into how decisions get made; he cited a department chair suggestion from last year that is now being expanded school-wide.
"I don't have the answer to everything," he said. "I gotta rely on my team. It's making sure that every student, teacher, staff member, and community member has an avenue to express their voice."
What else parents heard
The morning covered significant ground beyond the headline items.
On staffing, ACHS is approximately 95% staffed heading into the school year, with one math position, two specialized instruction positions, and a small number of dean slots still being filled. Burch has been announcing key hires on Instagram (@achs_principal), including Brianna Johnson as dean of students, Frednardo Davis, Ed.D., as academic principal for the Chance for Change campus, Eva Irwin — a 2024 Milken Educator Award recipient — returning as academic principal, and Jessica Hillery as lead administrator for school improvement. The King Street campus principal position remains open, though Burch indicated there may be an announcement there soon.
The bell schedule is unchanged — the alternating red-blue block schedule runs from 8:35 a.m. to 3:25 p.m. The first day of school is Aug. 24, a red day. Hello High School orientation is Aug. 21, starting at 8:30 a.m. and including a club fair. Burch said the district is targeting June 5, 2027, for graduation, pending contract finalization.
On campus transitions, roughly 65% of students stayed on their home campus for the full school day last year. The goal this year is 70%. Burch credited director of counseling Brianna Hardery with running a weekly master schedule review — every Monday since the Minnie Howard campus opened — aimed at reducing unnecessary cross-campus travel.
On outdoor space, parents pushed for more access to fresh air at lunch. Burch said the school is exploring outdoor dining options, including a fenced area at King Street currently under CIP review, and acknowledged that the rooftop garden — formerly the site of frequent conflicts — remains closed for safety reasons. "I want that too," he said. "We just have to make sure we have the resources to do it safely."
On athletic facilities, money has been spent bringing the home-side bleachers up to safety standards. A $2 million CIP allocation exists for further renovation, though a full overhaul would cost $2.5 to $3 million. The weight room is currently being expanded, and gym floors have been repaired.
On AI and academic integrity, the school's honor code does not yet specifically address AI. In response to a reporter's question, Burch said teachers are leading the conversation, with a teacher-developed recommendation going to the district's policy office, and an academic integrity focus planned for preservice week. His broader point: authentic, project-based assessment makes AI harder to misuse. "If you have authentic assessment, it's harder to cheat," he said.
'We all can't be one community'
The event ran long, which seemed intentional. Burch took questions until the room ran out of them, then stayed for a media gaggle with reporters before heading into an afternoon of meetings — including one with a member of the district's three-person interim leadership team about a space crunch that has robotics and construction programs sharing a 3,000-square-foot room designed for one of them.
He is, by his own telling, a builder of systems and a believer in slow, consistent progress. He was hired from inside partly because the district wanted someone who wouldn't need a year to learn the building. By the evidence of this morning, he already knows where the problems are.
Whether his tenure delivers on the promise of stability depends, he said, on more than him. When asked by The Alexandria Brief what the entire community needs to do to make his time at ACHS successful, his answer was blunt.
"I've seen a lot since I've been here — different factions, the city, the school board, the district, students, admin. There's been a lot of conflict, a lot of headbutting," he said. "I'm tired of the fighting. We all need to work together."
"If we keep having turnover — not only in teachers and leadership, but in everything — we all can't be one community," he added. "We have to build all this partnership back. Everybody in this city wants their child to be successful. It just looks different for different families."
School begins Aug. 24.
