Dr. Gregory Hutchings has been unapologetic about his stance when it comes to combatting issues of racial inequities. In this interview, he talks about racial equity being at the heart of his work and decision-making as exhibited by the school reopening plan that he proposed known as the Virtual PLUS+ model. Dr. Hutchings was laser-focused on presenting a model that went beyond academics by providing other basic needs. He describes it as, “Our nation is simultaneously experiencing two global pandemics: COVID-19 and racial inequity.”
He also discussed a call to action for their community audience: to learn about and begin to institute similar practices in their own organizations to eliminate racial inequities. He always ends his meetings by saying, “We are better together, than apart.”
Here are several links for further exploration about the vision, strategic plan, and mobilization with school community in Alexandria City Public Schools:
- ACPS’ 2025 Strategic Plan: Equity for All
- The Op-Ed that the students wrote on our school renaming process. Dr. Hutchings gave up his Op-Ed last month so they could lend their voice: https://alextimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/09_10_2020-Alex_Times_WEB.pdf. See page 25.
- Webpage on The Identity Project: Renaming Our Schools
