Melanie Kay-Wyatt Retires Early; Grace Taylor Named Acting ACPS Superintendent
ALEXANDRIA, VA—Dr. Melanie Kay-Wyatt has concluded her service as superintendent of Alexandria City Public Schools earlier than anticipated, and the Alexandria City School Board has appointed Chief of Staff Dr. Grace Taylor as acting superintendent.
The leadership changes took effect Aug. 12 following a special-called School Board meeting. According to an announcement sent to ACPS families and staff, the board and Kay-Wyatt agreed to modify her separation agreement, allowing her retirement to begin earlier than originally planned.
“The School Board is grateful to Dr. Kay-Wyatt for her time, leadership and service to ACPS,” the board said in its announcement. “We wish her well on her retirement after 30 years of service in public education.”
Taylor will serve as acting superintendent until ACPS hires its next permanent superintendent and that person is able to begin work. The board said her appointment will provide stability as the division welcomes students and staff for the 2026–27 school year.
Taylor has served as ACPS chief of staff since December 2023, overseeing the strategic management and operation of the superintendent’s office and leading special projects. She has also served as the superintendent’s designee when needed.
Since September 2025, Taylor has taken on additional responsibilities to help fill the division’s chief operating officer vacancy. In that interim capacity, she provided leadership to the Facilities and Operations team while ACPS conducted a national search for a permanent replacement.
Taylor has deep ties to Alexandria’s public schools. She attended George Mason Elementary School and George Washington Middle School before graduating from what was then T.C. Williams High School in 1987.
During her career with ACPS, Taylor has served as principal of George Washington Middle School, the Minnie Howard School and John Adams Elementary School. In 2008, while leading Minnie Howard, she was recognized as a principal of excellence and received The Washington Post’s Distinguished Educational Leadership Award.
Taylor also previously worked in the superintendent’s office as a principal on assignment and served as executive associate principal for special education at Alexandria City High School. In those roles, she helped establish partnerships supporting the George Mason University Early Identification Program and Advancement Via Individual Determination, commonly known as AVID. She also launched the Senior Experience program to help prepare students for college, careers and life.
Before returning to ACPS in 2023, Taylor worked for Fairfax County Public Schools as an interim assistant superintendent, executive principal and cluster director. Earlier in her career, she served as a high school principal in Boulder, Colorado, and Atlanta, Georgia.
Taylor earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Emory University, a master’s degree in education and an educational specialist degree in educational leadership from Georgia State University, and a doctorate in educational leadership from Virginia Tech.
The School Board said Taylor’s experience, familiarity with ACPS and longstanding commitment to Alexandria will provide “strong and steady leadership” during the transition.
The search for the division’s next permanent superintendent remains underway.
