City of Alexandria Children & Youth Master Plan

The members of the Alexandria Children, Youth and Families Collaborative Commission are pleased to announce the release of the approved Children and Youth Master Plan. The Plan will be presented to City Council at a public hearing on Saturday, May 17 at 9:30 a.m.at City Hall, located at 301 King Street. All residents and stakeholders are encouraged to attend.

The Children and Youth Master Plan serves as the basis for the coordination, alignment and delivery of effective services for all city children and youth, from birth to 21 years-old, and their families while maximizing taxpayer and private investments in the allocation of resources.  The Plan envisions a city where each program and initiative collaborates to improve outcomes in identified areas, while creating a culture of safety, social and civic engagement, and academic and vocational aspiration. The five Plan goals are:

1.      Every child will be physically safe and healthy.

2.      Every child will be academically successful and career-ready.

3.      Every child will be socially connected, emotionally secure and culturally competent.

4.      Every family will be equipped and empowered to support the well-being of their children effectively.

5.      Alexandria’s systems and institutions will be responsive, coordinated, efficient and effective in service to children and families.

Plan development began with community forums involving over 300 youth and adults, and continued with the work of a design team comprising community, school, faith-based, parent and youth members. The Plan aligns with the City’s and Alexandria City Public School’s strategic plans, among others.

Following City Council adoption of the Plan and endorsement by the School Board, theAlexandria Children, Youth and Families Collaborative Commission will develop a design for implementation.

Prescription Drug Take Back Day a Success in Alexandria

Prescription Drug Take Back Day a Success in Alexandria

The Alexandria Police Department and the Alexandria Sheriff’s Office collected 188 pounds of potentially dangerous expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs for destruction at the National Prescription Drug Take Back Day.

On Saturday, April 26, 2014, from 10 A.M. to 2 P.M., the two Alexandria law enforcement agencies, with cooperation from the Substance Abuse Coalition of Alexandria, collected potentially dangerous expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs and other medications for destruction at three sites in the City

Over 5,000 collections sites nationwide participated in the take back day program this pastSaturday and over 3,150 pounds were collected in the Northern Virginia area alone. In Alexandria, residents dropped off unused prescription medications at three drop sites in the City. The sites included Police Headquarters, the Del Ray Pharmacy and the parking lot of the First Baptist Church. The service was free and anonymous.

Last spring, the two Alexandria law enforcement agencies collected over 243 pounds of prescription drugs for destruction in the third ever take back initiative.

This initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. Many Americans are not aware that medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the United States are increasing at alarming rates, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs. Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet. In addition, many Americans do not know how to properly dispose of their unused medicine, often flushing them down the toilet or throwing them away – both potential safety and health hazards. 

Other participants in this initiative include the Partnership for a Drug-Free America; the International Association of Chiefs of Police; the National Association of Attorneys General; the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy; the Federation of State Medical Boards; and the National District Attorneys Association.

City of Alexandria Observes Days of Remembrance for Victims of Holocaust

City of Alexandria Observes

Days of Remembrance for Victims of Holocaust

Ceremony Speaker is Susan Johnson, PhD, 

Head of School for Commonwealth Academy

The City of Alexandria will observe the Days of Remembrance, Yom HaShoah, for the victims of the Holocaust at noon on Thursday, May 1, 2014, in Market Square, 301 King Street. This year’s theme is “Memory, Arts, and the Future”.  The Alexandria City Council hosts the annual ceremony as part of the weeklong commemoration of the national Days of Remembrance, Sunday, April 27, through Sunday, May 4. This is the 27^th consecutive year that the City has held the Days of Remembrance ceremony. The event is free and open to the public. In case of inclement weather, the ceremony will be held in the Vola Lawson Lobby on the first floor of City Hall,

301 King St.

(

Cameron St.

 side of the building). 

The centerpiece of this year’s ceremony will be the commemorative quilt created by 35 students of Commonwealth Academy, under the direction of their art teacher, Ksenya Litvak.  Dr. Susan Johnson, Head of School, will introduce attendees to the quilt, which will be on display.  Local clergy and students will participate.

During the ceremony, Alexandria Mayor William D. Euille and City Council members will light a candelabrum that the late Holocaust survivor Charlene Schiff and her husband, Ed, donated to the City. The 54-inch high solid brass candelabrum was given to the City in memory of Charlene Schiff’s parents, sister, and the six million Jews and millions of others who perished in the Holocaust.

The Schiff candelabrum, under the care of the City’s Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities, is made available to schools and civic groups studying the Holocaust and to the City’s annual observance of the Days of Remembrance.

The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, in accordance with its Congressional mandate (Public Law 96-388, 10/7/80), is leading the nation in the weeklong Days of Remembrance commemoration.