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Virginia's top education officials made Alexandria the Northern Virginia stop on Governor Abigail Spanberger's statewide Commonwealth Listening Tour Wednesday evening, filling a room at Alexandria City High School's Minnie Howard Campus with educators, parents, school board members and community members for nearly two hours of structured conversation about the state of public education.
Virginia Secretary of Education Dr. Jeffrey O. Smith and Superintendent of Public Instruction Jenna Conway led the session, joined by ACPS Superintendent Dr. Melanie Kay-Wyatt, School Board Chair Dr. Michelle Rief, Vice Chair Christopher Harris and Board Member Ashley Simpson Baird. Holly Cole, VDOE's chief of staff, was also present.
The session was the eighth and final in-person stop on a statewide tour launched by Spanberger on her first day in office, when she signed Executive Order 4 directing the Secretary of Education and the Superintendent of Public Instruction to hear directly from Virginians about their schools within the administration's first 100 days. Although the session was held in Alexandria and hosted by ACPS, it served all of Region 4 — Northern Virginia — a broad swath of the state covering Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William counties and their affiliated cities, as well as Fauquier, Culpeper, Frederick, Shenandoah, Warren and several other jurisdictions. Not all issues raised necessarily reflected Alexandria or ACPS specifically.
The room at Minnie Howard was arranged in ten tables of ten seats, with interpretation available in Spanish, Arabic, Amharic and Dari — reflecting the linguistic diversity of the region. A note-taker with a laptop captured feedback at each table throughout the evening, and state officials, including Smith and Conway, circulated from table to table rather than remaining at the front of the room, giving participants direct access to state leadership during each discussion round.
The evening moved through six structured discussion rounds of approximately eight minutes each, covering general feedback on what is and isn't working in schools; literacy and math instruction; accountability and accreditation, with a focus on the first year of Virginia's new School Performance and Support Framework; workforce recruitment and retention; school operations including schedules, transportation and lunch; and how VDOE can better partner with schools and communities.
Each round was framed by slides that provided context before participants turned to their tables for discussion. The accountability round noted that the School Performance and Support Framework — Virginia's statewide school rating system — was first implemented in the 2024-25 school year and that Executive Order 4 directs VDOE to apply lessons from that first year. The workforce round opened simply: "Teachers matter." The final partnership round asked participants what VDOE should start, stop or continue doing.
To respect the open and candid nature of the conversations, participant remarks were not recorded and no names were collected from the tables.
In her closing remarks, Conway called the session "vibrant," describing participants leaning in across tables to hear one another. She singled out students in the room for special recognition. "As someone who has a seventh grader who would probably choose to be many other places than here, just to have our students come out and share their perspectives, to be here at the table, to be a part of this, is really powerful," she said.
Conway said the candid, constructive feedback gathered across all eight stops was exactly what the tour was designed to collect. "I've heard so many different perspectives tonight, as I have over the course of the last few weeks," she said. "But I also hear your passion, hear your commitment, and truly believe that there is more that unites us than divides us."
Smith closed the evening with a quote from Nelson Mandela. "Education is the most powerful weapon which we can use to change the world," he said. "Ladies and gentlemen, let's together change the world."
The feedback gathered Wednesday night will be compiled alongside input from all other regional stops on the tour and presented to the Office of the Governor. A public report is expected in the coming weeks.
Alexandria residents who were unable to attend can still submit feedback directly to the governor's office via an online survey. The survey asks respondents what a successful school looks like, what challenges prevent students from thriving, and what Virginia should start, stop or continue. Respondents select their region — Alexandria falls in Region 4 — and their role, from student to school board member to community member. Submissions are anonymous unless respondents choose to provide their name and email.
The visit came the same day VDOE made Alexandria the site of a separate surprise event earlier in the afternoon — the announcement of Jefferson-Houston teacher Deedra Robinson as the 2027 Virginia Region 4 Teacher of the Year, marking the second consecutive year an ACPS teacher has earned the regional honor.
