Public Invited to Jefferson-Houston Groundbreaking

Alexandria is breaking ground on its new Jefferson-Houston School at 3 p.m. Tuesday, May 21 at 1501 Cameron Street and the public is invited to attend the event.

City Council approved a $44-million proposal to rebuild Jefferson-Houston School in December 2012.

Alexandria City Public Schools cited rising maintenance costs, student population growth and a need for modern learning facilities as reasons to rebuild the struggling school, which serves pre-K through 8th grade and has been marked as one of six chronically failing schools in Virginia.

Governor Bob McDonnell plans to create a body in July that would have the ability to intervene in the state’s lowest performing schools. 

Neighborhoods including Old Town, Del Ray and the new Potomac Yard are in the Jefferson-Houston school district.

The current school will be replaced by 130,000-square-foot L-shaped building framing a new turf athletic field. The majority of the school will not exceed 48 feet in height, with the exceptions of a stair tower and an observatory.

The field will be constructed at the site of the existing school along Cameron Street. The plan also calls for improvements to the Durant Arts Center, which sits on the same plot of land as the school. Planners have called the project “a school and recreation campus.” The school’s gym, field, play areas and a white-box theater will be available for community use to varying degrees.

The new building would increase enrollment at the school to more than 700 students.

For more on Jefferson-Houston, check out:

• Lawmakers Reject Governor's Amendments to Jefferson-Houston 'Takeover' Bill
• State to Intervene in Jefferson-Houston School 
• State Closer to Jefferson Houston Takeover 
• School Control Bill Affecting Alexandria Heads to Governor's Desk 
• Senate Delays Vote on School Control Measure 
• Graf: School Control Bill Could Merit Legal Action 
• ACPS School Board Opposes Legislation in Letter to Governor 
• Krupicka: State Bills Could Spell Trouble for Jefferson-Houston 
• ACPS Selects Partner to Help Jefferson-Houston Close Achievement Ga
• New Jefferson-Houston School Project Receives Approval