The School Board of the City of Virginia Beach voted to name Dr. Donald Robertson Jr. as superintendent at its meeting Jan. 23. A native of Hampton Roads, Dr. Robertson began his career as a math teacher with Virginia Beach City Public Schools (VBCPS) in 1988 and progressed in leadership roles including assistant principal of Bayside High School, principal of Salem High School, chief strategy and innovation officer, chief schools officer, chief of staff and acting superintendent.

Students explore “Power of Infinite Hope” at Annual African American Male Summit

Hundreds of Virginia Beach City Public Schools (VBCPS) students will participate in the 16th Annual African American Male Summit on Jan. 20 at Frank W. Cox High School. Boys in grades six through 12 will share ideas with each other and with adult community members on topics such as student leadership, community involvement, relationship-building, and physical and mental well-being.

School Board Members Melnyk and Franklin

Kimberly A. Melnyk elected as School Board chairwoman, Jennifer Franklin elected vice chairwoman

At its Jan. 9 meeting, the School Board of the City of Virginia Beach elected Kimberly A. Melnyk as chair and Jennifer Franklin as vice chair.

Cooke Elementary School's Paula Hernandez selected 2025 Citywide Teacher of the Year

Paula Hernandez, a kindergarten teacher at W.T. Cooke Elementary School, is the 2025 Virginia Beach City Public Schools (VBCPS) Citywide Teacher of the Year. Acting Superintendent Dr. Donald Robertson made the announcement during a surprise visit to Hernandez's school on Dec. 20.

Two Virginia Beach schools top U.S. News & World Report ranking (opens in new window/tab)

U.S. News & World Report recently ranked Kingston Elementary and Old Donation School as the No. 1 elementary and middle schools in Virginia. Old Donation School, which has students in grades two through eight and is the home of the Edward E. Brickell Academy for Advanced Academics & Arts, was also ranked as the No. 2 elementary school in the state.

An Achievable Dream Middle and High School at Lynnhaven celebrates new high school addition (opens in new window/tab)

Virginia Beach City Public Schools (VBCPS) and An Achievable Dream (AAD) have expanded their partnership with the opening of a new addition at Lynnhaven Middle School. The 25,000-square-foot addition is the home to the Lynnhaven AAD High School Program. The program currently services ninth through 11th graders and will expand to 12th grade next year.

VBCPS maintains high on-time graduation rate, overall low dropout rate and progress among several demographic groups (opens in new window/tab)

Virginia Beach City Public Schools (VBCPS) has continued to maintain record levels with respect to the On-Time Graduation (OTG) rate, which stands at 95.3% for the 2023 cohort year, and a low dropout rate of 2.8%. VBCPS also outperformed Virginia's rates of 91.9% for OTG and 5.4% for dropouts.

VBCPS celebrates literacy and storytelling with All District Reads (opens in new window/tab)

Elementary students in grades kindergarten through five will receive free copies of the book “EllRay Jakes is Magic!” this week, thanks to an exciting literacy program called All District Reads. Virginia Beach City Public Schools (VBCPS) encourages student to read the book aloud and discuss the story with their families, classmates and community.

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AVID

Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID)

The purpose of the Independence Middle School AVID College Readiness System is to restructure the teaching methods of an entire school and open access to the curricula that will ensure four-year college eligibility to almost all students by aligning the AVID WICOR strategies with the Virginia Beach City Public Schools’ Strategic Plan, which strives to equip students with skills they need to succeed as 21st Century learners and workers.

All students, and most especially the least served students who are in middle school:

will succeed in rigorous curriculum,
will complete a rigorous college preparatory path
will enter mainstream activities of the school,
will increase their enrollment in four-year colleges, and
will become educated and responsible participants and leaders in a democratic society