Newport News Public Schools
Encyclopedia
Newport News Public Schools (NNPS) is the branch of the government of Newport News, Virginia
that operates the city's system of public schools. , NNPS had an enrollment of 30,568. The district employs about 5,100 people, including 2,685 teacher
s and teacher assistants.
, NNPS is legally classified as a school division
. While Virginia school divisions operate in largely the same manner as school district
s in the rest of the United States
, they have one key difference from their counterparts in other states—they have no taxing authority. NNPS, like all other school divisions in the state, must rely on its associated local government for the bulk of its funding.
NNPS is run by an eight-member School Board
of elected officials. Seven of the eight are elected in a ward voting system, while the eighth is selected at-large from the entire city. The policies of the School Board are implemented by a superintendent
.
primary and secondary education. , the division operates five early childhood/preschool centers, 25 elementary schools
serving grades K–5, eight middle school
s serving grades 6–8, one combined middle and high school serving grades 6–12, and five high school
s serving grades 9–12.
of Kecoughtan
, formerly in Elizabeth City County
.
About the same time, a new Booker T. Washington High School was built on the site of the old school on Chestnut Avenue.
In 1936, a new Collis P. Huntington High School
was built, and the old school building became an elementary school. http://www.boarddocs.com/vsba/nnps/Board.nsf/0/46978e1a745220b58525709d006e7d5f?OpenDocument
The building which housed the former George Washington Carver High School is now Flora D. Crittenden Middle School.
John W. Daniel School operated until 1960, and then served as the first home of Christopher Newport College (now a university). Newport News High School
was closed in 1971; from 1971 to 1980, it served as Newport News Intermediate School, and is now used for U.S. Navy housing.
The building on Warwick Boulevard that formerly housed Homer L. Ferguson High School
, which closed in 1996, was remodeled as part of the Ferguson Center for the Performing Arts
at Christopher Newport University
.
In 2009, the Newport News school board voted to move the Denbigh Early Childhood Center pre-school program to the site of the current Reservoir Middle School. The middle school closed in June 2009, and the new full-day pre-school program re-opened in its new home in September 2009.
.
By August 2010, only 14 of the 38 schools met that standard.
The Aviation Academy, located at the Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport
, teaches high school students with an emphasis on engineering
, particularly in the field of aviation
. The academy also offers students a Pilot Ground School course.
The Enterprise Academy, an alternative school for students who have been suspended or expelled from their schools or have spent time in correctional facilities, places an emphasis on business.
The International Baccalaureate Diploma Program teaches students with an emphasis on international learning. At Dutrow Elementary School, all students are enrolled in the IB Primary Years program; all students are expected to read, write, and speak Spanish
fluently by the end of the fifth grade. The Passage Middle School offers a Middle Years program. Students at Warwick High School
can apply to enter a two-year IB program. They must have completed algebra, a year of a foreign language, and an advanced integrated language-arts class, all with grades of at least B; recommendations from teachers; and at least a 3.0 grade point average. The programs are offered in conjunction with the International Baccalaureate.
Newport News, Virginia
Newport News is an independent city located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia. It is at the southeastern end of the Virginia Peninsula, on the north shore of the James River extending southeast from Skiffe's Creek along many miles of waterfront to the river's mouth at Newport News...
that operates the city's system of public schools. , NNPS had an enrollment of 30,568. The district employs about 5,100 people, including 2,685 teacher
Teacher
A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
s and teacher assistants.
Organization
Like all public K–12 school systems in VirginiaVirginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, NNPS is legally classified as a school division
School division
-Canada:In Canada the term is used to the area controlled by a school board and is used interchangeably with school district, including in the formal name of the board. For example, see List of Alberta school boards.-United States:...
. While Virginia school divisions operate in largely the same manner as school district
School district
School districts are a form of special-purpose district which serves to operate the local public primary and secondary schools.-United States:...
s in the rest of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, they have one key difference from their counterparts in other states—they have no taxing authority. NNPS, like all other school divisions in the state, must rely on its associated local government for the bulk of its funding.
NNPS is run by an eight-member School Board
Board of education
A board of education or a school board or school committee is the title of the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or higher administrative level....
of elected officials. Seven of the eight are elected in a ward voting system, while the eighth is selected at-large from the entire city. The policies of the School Board are implemented by a superintendent
Superintendent (education)
In education in the United States, a superintendent is an individual who has executive oversight and administration rights, usually within an educational entity or organization....
.
Schools
The schools of NNPS are divided into the three standard levels of AmericanUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
primary and secondary education. , the division operates five early childhood/preschool centers, 25 elementary schools
Primary education
A primary school is an institution in which children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as primary or elementary education. Primary school is the preferred term in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth Nations, and in most publications of the United Nations Educational,...
serving grades K–5, eight middle school
Middle school
Middle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...
s serving grades 6–8, one combined middle and high school serving grades 6–12, and five high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
s serving grades 9–12.
History of selected schools
In 1927, Woodrow Wilson High School was acquired in the annexation of the incorporated townIncorporated town
-Canada:Incorporated towns are a form of local government in Canada, which is a responsibility of provincial rather than federal government.-United States:...
of Kecoughtan
Kecoughtan, Virginia
Kecoughtan in Virginia was originally named Kikotan , the name of the Algonquian Native Americans living there when the English colonists arrived in the Hampton Roads area in 1607....
, formerly in Elizabeth City County
Elizabeth City County, Virginia
Elizabeth City County was a county in southeastern Virginia from 1634 to 1952. Originally created in 1634 as Elizabeth River Shire, it was one of eight shires created in the Virginia Colony by order of the King of England. In 1636, it was subdivided, and the portion north of the harbor of Hampton...
.
About the same time, a new Booker T. Washington High School was built on the site of the old school on Chestnut Avenue.
In 1936, a new Collis P. Huntington High School
Collis P. Huntington High School
Collis P. Huntington High School, commonly referred to as just Huntington High School was a black high school located in the East End section of Newport News, Virginia, USA during the era of racial segregation...
was built, and the old school building became an elementary school. http://www.boarddocs.com/vsba/nnps/Board.nsf/0/46978e1a745220b58525709d006e7d5f?OpenDocument
The building which housed the former George Washington Carver High School is now Flora D. Crittenden Middle School.
John W. Daniel School operated until 1960, and then served as the first home of Christopher Newport College (now a university). Newport News High School
Newport News High School
Newport News High School was a high school located in Newport News, Virginia. It was located at 3100 Huntington Avenue and operated by Newport News Public Schools.-History:...
was closed in 1971; from 1971 to 1980, it served as Newport News Intermediate School, and is now used for U.S. Navy housing.
The building on Warwick Boulevard that formerly housed Homer L. Ferguson High School
Homer L. Ferguson High School
Ferguson High School was formerly a high school in Newport News, Virginia, named for Homer L. Ferguson, who was president of Newport News Shipbuilding from July 22, 1915 until July 31, 1946. It was operated by Newport News Public Schools....
, which closed in 1996, was remodeled as part of the Ferguson Center for the Performing Arts
Ferguson Center for the Performing Arts
The Ferguson Center for the Arts is a theater and concert hall on the campus of Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Virginia, USA. The complex fully opened in September 2005 with two concert halls and many other facilities.-Performing arts venues:...
at Christopher Newport University
Christopher Newport University
Christopher Newport University, or CNU, is a public liberal arts university located in Newport News, Virginia, United States. CNU is the youngest comprehensive university in the Commonwealth of Virginia...
.
In 2009, the Newport News school board voted to move the Denbigh Early Childhood Center pre-school program to the site of the current Reservoir Middle School. The middle school closed in June 2009, and the new full-day pre-school program re-opened in its new home in September 2009.
Adequate Yearly Progress
In September 2009, 27 of the division's schools satisfied the federal government's regulations for Adequate Yearly ProgressAdequate Yearly Progress
Adequate Yearly Progress, or AYP, is a measurement defined by the United States federal No Child Left Behind Act that allows the U.S. Department of Education to determine how every public school and school district in the country is performing academically according to results on standardized...
.
By August 2010, only 14 of the 38 schools met that standard.
Curriculum
NNPS offers several programs that differ from a traditional educational curriculum.The Aviation Academy, located at the Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport
Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport
Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport is an airport located 9 mi northwest of downtown Newport News, Virginia, and serves the entire Hampton Roads metropolitan area along with Norfolk International Airport in Norfolk...
, teaches high school students with an emphasis on engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
, particularly in the field of aviation
Aviation
Aviation is the design, development, production, operation, and use of aircraft, especially heavier-than-air aircraft. Aviation is derived from avis, the Latin word for bird.-History:...
. The academy also offers students a Pilot Ground School course.
The Enterprise Academy, an alternative school for students who have been suspended or expelled from their schools or have spent time in correctional facilities, places an emphasis on business.
The International Baccalaureate Diploma Program teaches students with an emphasis on international learning. At Dutrow Elementary School, all students are enrolled in the IB Primary Years program; all students are expected to read, write, and speak Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
fluently by the end of the fifth grade. The Passage Middle School offers a Middle Years program. Students at Warwick High School
Warwick High School (Newport News)
Warwick High School is a high school in Newport News, Virginia. Warwick is the oldest of five high schools in the city and has been home to the Newport News Centre for the International Baccalaureate program since 1996. The school's sports teams are known as the Raiders, previously the Farmers...
can apply to enter a two-year IB program. They must have completed algebra, a year of a foreign language, and an advanced integrated language-arts class, all with grades of at least B; recommendations from teachers; and at least a 3.0 grade point average. The programs are offered in conjunction with the International Baccalaureate.
Awards and recognition
, Newsweek magazine's list of the top six percent of public high schools included five Newport News schools. Newsweek ranks high schools measured by enrollment as well as access to Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate classes.External links
- Newport News Public Schools (Official site)
- Directory of Newport News Schools
- Newport News Public Schools Telecommunications Center (Official site for NNPSTV)