By Brianne McConnell | bmcconnell@alextimes.com

Alexandria City Public Schools will have a familiar face leading the district.
 

On the evening of May 4, the School Board announced Melanie Kay-Wyatt, Ed.D will be the permanent Superintendent of Schools.

Kay-Wyatt has been serving as interim Superintendent since September.

“She is an experienced, forward-thinking leader, and is exactly what we need for our
school divisions’s success. She brings to this role a focus on academic excellence and social-emotional well-being for our students, and will continue to emphasize and ensure we have safe schools,” School Board Chair Meagan Alderton said.

During Thursday night’s board meeting Alderton also said Kay- Wyatt’s selection is an historic one.

“This is the first black woman to lead Alexandria City Public Schools as a permanent
Superintendent.”  Kay-Wyatt was selected from a pool of 35 applicants in a national search process the School Board launched back in November 2022.

Prior to her appointment as interim Superintendent, Kay-Wyatt was ACPS Chief of
Human Resources. She joined the school system in July 2021. Kay-Wyatt holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Mar Washington College, a master’s degree in education from Old Dominion University, a master of education degree in educational leadership from University of Mary Washing and a doctorate in educational leadership from Virginia Commonwealth University.

Kay-Wyatt, who was emotional during the announcement thanked the school board and school community, stating that its been a challenging school year.

“I look forward to continuing the work thats ahead of us for our students for staff and for our greater community, the work we do is hard but what i do know is when we come together everything is possible.”

Kay-Wyatt will officially take over as Superintendent July 1, with a contract that will extend until June 30, 2027.

Under her contract Kay-Wyatt will earn an annual salary of $265,000.