Albemarle County Public Schools (ACPS) is a school district serving Albemarle County, Virginia. Its headquarters are in the City of Charlottesville.[1] ACPS serves approximately 14,000 students in preschool through grade 12 in Albemarle County, Virginia, the sixth largest county by area in the Commonwealth of Virginia. A diverse locality of 726 square miles in the heart of Central Virginia, Albemarle County is a blend of primarily rural, but also suburban and urban settings.
The current Superintendent, Matthew S. Haas, was appointed by the Albemarle County School Board in July 2018.[2]
Governance
ACPS is governed by a 7-member school board. 6 members are elected by the county's 6 magisterial districts, while one at-large member is elected by the entire county. Elections are held on odd-numbered years, and members serve staggered 4-year terms.
If a vacancy occurs, the board appoints a new member to serve until the next election. A special election may be held if necessary.[3]
1180 Seminole Trail, Suite 225, Charlottesville, VA 22901
Ivy Creek School
227 Lambs Lane, Charlottesville, VA 22901
PREP (Piedmont Regional Education Program)
227 Lambs Lane, Charlottesville, VA 22901
Policy and Politics
School Renamings
From 2018 to 2024, ACPS renamed several district schools.[7] The board drew sharp criticism after renaming Meriwether Lewis Elementery to Ivy Elementery despite overwhelming support for the original name.[8] In a similar case, constituents objected after the board excised former Principal Benjamin Hurt's name from Agnor-Hurt Elementary.[9] In another instance, the board renamed Paul H. Cale Elementary to Mountain View, on the grounds that Cale had hindered racial integration as superintendent. The Cale family disputed this notion, noting that the accusation largely rested on paraphrased quotes from a single source.[10][11]
Graduates
2018 ACPS graduates received 1,078 acceptances from 204 colleges and universities, including 146 acceptances from 15 of the top 25 national universities, according to rankings by U.S. News & World Report.
Of the 1,070 graduates:
617 (57.7%) reported plans to attend a 4-year college.
255 (23.8%) reported plans to attend a 2-year college.
198 (18.5%) reported alternate plans, including other continuing education, military, employment, or something else.
Other Data
ACPS students were born in 89 countries and speak 74 home languages.
Average Class Size for 2017–18:
Elementary – 19.4
Middle – 22.1
High – 21.4
Student-to-Computer Ratio: 1:1 for grades 3–12; 3:2 for grades K-2
Average number of meals served daily (including breakfast and lunch): 8,000
School bus miles traveled daily: 14,384
The Families in Crisis Program served approximately 457 homeless children in the 2017–18 school year, including 255 ACPS students and other children/students (siblings of ACPS students who are preschoolers or dropouts, and students living in Albemarle County who attend adjoining school systems).
