Community Meeting Tonight on Patrick Henry Swing Space

Alexandria, VA – Alexandria City Public Schools will conduct its first community meeting over the conversion of the vacant 1950s-era Patrick Henry Elementary School as swing space during the modernization of Douglas MacArthur Elementary School. The meeting will be held at Patrick Henry from 6 to 7 p.m. 

ICYMI: School Board OKs Swing Space at Old Patrick Henry Elementary Until Douglas MacArthur Elementary Renovations Complete

The move means that until MacArthur is ready in 2023, hundreds of area students will go to school in an old building that was set to be demolished – right next door to the brand new Patrick Henry Elementary School.

The Patrick Henry property will be home to 1,500 students, and ACPS will spend $5 million in renovating the old school. Meanwhile, the $55.58 million renovation of MacArthur will be moved up from 2025 to 2023. A community meeting was held on April 1 to discuss the plan, followed by the board’s action three days later. Board Member Heather Thornton was the lone dissenting vote.