VOICES: Stories from Alexandria City Public Schools Alexandria City Public Schools

Meet the Jovovic Doussard family. They have three boys who are all ACPS students and range in ages from eight to thirteen. Cooped up together during the #COVIDclosure, they're learning to structure their learning day and to get along.

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John and Beatrice fell in love against a backdrop of racial tension, when America was on the precipice of change. Listen as John and Bea reminisce about a life lived in Alexandria as we wrap up our Black History Month series.

The content of this VOICES is courtesy of the Alexandria African American Hall of Fame. “A Speech for Prosperity,” given on October 23, 2018 at the Carlyle Club, in Alexandria, VA. To see the speech in its entirety please visit alexandriaafricanamericanhalloffame.org

Dr. Faye S. Gunn is the granddaughter of a Chincoteague Island sharecropper who was encouraged to build a better life for herself. She traveled 100 miles each day to earn her high school diploma even though her small island had three elementary schools and two high schools. Those schools were for whites only. She went on to earn her degree from Norfolk State University, became a teacher at ACPS, and was the first black minister of Alfred Street Baptist Church.

Listen to Dr. Gunn share the challenges she faced growing up as a black woman.

Senior Mya Hall can sing but as a transfer student wanting to join T.C. Williams’ advanced choir, she had to get past an audition with Choir Director Theodore Thorpe, an ordeal she describes as tense and scary.

Cadet Hannah Yee says the T.C. Williams' Army JROTC program has provided her with a solid foundation, turning her from a misguided kid a few years ago into a leader. This week, as we celebrate Veterans Day, Hannah will be sworn into the U.S. Army and is looking forward to serving her country. Her mentor, retired Command Sgt. Maj. William A. Jordan, talks with Hannah about the changes he’s seen in her these past four years as an Army JROTC cadet.

T.C. Williams' The Kick coffee shop serves up hot beverages and smiles each morning and also provides students with disabilities an on-site opportunity to get practical work place experience. Take a listen to Autism Resource Teacher Donsu Spratt and Paraprofessional Sally "The Boss" Schneider as they talk shop — coffee shop, that is.