Divisionwide Efficiency Study

Any adopted changes would be implemented no earlier than the 2027-2028 school year.

The board will consider such options when and if changes to the current boundaries or school assignments are modified.

Families and students may apply for one of our magnet or specialty programs or pursue an administrative transfer through NNPS School Board policy JCB.

In order to legally discontinue crosstown busing, Newport News Public Schools needs approval from a court with jurisdiction over the matter or a statement from the court that the school zone directive has expired and is no longer in force.

NNPS is committed to ensuring that every student, regardless of where they live or attend school, has access to high-quality instruction, rigorous academic programs, qualified teachers, and the resources and supports necessary for success. This commitment extends to every school community throughout the school division, including the Southeast Community.

The court order mandate only included elementary (3-5) and high school students.

This would be the decision of the court based on information provided during the legal process.

A second round of community meetings is planned for early December 2026. At these meetings three possible scenarios for new school boundaries will be shared with the community for input and feedback. At the same time an update to the boundary explorer tool (https://boundaries.nn.k12.va.us/) will be released that shows all school zone options and allows members of the public to search for whether changes would impact their student and family and to comment and share feedback on the options online.

Yes, expanding access to before and after school care has been discussed and remains a goal for Newport News Parks and Recreation to help families ease drop-off logistics and reduce reliance on busing. While Parks and Recreation would love to broaden site availability and capacity, expansion is currently paused for them due to staffing constraints and budget limitations.

Traditional school buildings.

This should not impact summer STEM programming. Please note that summer program locations are always dependent upon individual school maintenance needs.

This decision will be made upon completion of the study.

In addition to private providers and other community partners, NNPS currently has 9 schools that host before and after school care programs for our students. If changes are made to existing school boundaries and/or assignments, NNPS is prepared to collaborate with NNP&R to ensure sites are located appropriately across the school division.

No, changes to our current boundaries will not adversely affect our ability to adjust our curriculum as required by the Virginia Department of Education or as deemed necessary and appropriate to provide high-quality educational opportunities for all of our students.

At the time the ECC programs were established, NNPS took a center-based approach and utilized the facilities that were available and located geographically across the city.

Yes, we have and continue to assess the department's capacity and historical staffing data. Our salaries for bus drivers and assistants are highly competitive within the region.

Yes, this is one of the factors leading NNPS to transition to propane busses as opposed to diesel.

The study does include magnet programs. At this time, there are not yet specific proposals or impacts. Based on the current project timeline, scenarios will be developed during October and November 2026 and options for consideration and input will be presented to the public in December 2026. Potential strategies that are being considered by NNPS that may involve magnets include creating school zones for schools that do not currently have zones, making changes to transportation eligibility or policies.

At this time, there are not yet specific proposals or impacts. Based on the current project timeline, scenarios will be developed during October and November 2026 and options for consideration and input will be presented to the public in December 2026. Potential strategies that are being considered by NNPS that may involve magnets include creating school zones for schools that do not currently have zones, making changes to transportation eligibility or policies.

At this time, there are not yet specific proposals or impacts. Based on the current project timeline, scenarios will be developed during October and November 2026 and options for consideration and input will be presented to the public in December 2026. Potential strategies that are being considered by NNPS that may involve magnets include creating school zones for schools that do not currently have zones, making changes to transportation eligibility or policies.

PreK-12 schools with school zones and those that are unzoned and house magnet programs are the schools included in the scope of work with WXY. Enterprise and homebound enrollment are not included in this group and will not be impacted by recommendations from the consultant team.

Facility condition information was gathered during the Capital Improvement & Facilities Master Plan and is available online here. This information will be used in the Efficiency Study, however, an assessment of school conditions is not part of the analysis for this Efficiency Study.

The process of developing new school zones will involve trying to increase the number of schools within the ideal utilization range while balancing with the other key considerations including distance to school and transportation impacts, the number of students rezoned, access to educational programs and services, and school diversity. In addition to meeting this range of needs, the study will take into account qualitative factors such as geography and neighborhood contiguity, safe routes to school, use of modular classrooms, and more.

The process of developing new school zones will involve trying to reduce the distance students need to travel to school while balancing with the other key considerations including school utilization, the number of students rezoned, access to educational programs and services, and school diversity.

Facility age will be included among the factors evaluated when considering new school zones. Facility age and condition information will be drawn from the Capital Improvement Plan and Facilities Masterplan.

The process of developing new school zones will involve trying to decrease the number of modular classrooms and minimize the number of students who need to be rezoned, while balancing with the other key considerations including more evenly balancing school utilization, reducing the distances students need to travel to school, expanding access to educational programs and services, and maintaining school diversity.

Yes, the intent of the study is to ensure the school division is being good stewards of taxpayer resources, operating as efficiently as possible, and providing equitable access to high-quality instructional programs and services for all students.

The process of developing new school zones will involve trying to increase the number of schools within this ideal utilization range while balancing with the other key considerations including, distance to school and transportation impacts, the number of students rezoned, access to educational programs and services, and school diversity.

Declines in enrollment began prior to COVID-19 and have continued since. These are aligned with regional and national trends in school enrollment and are not unique to NNPS. Investigating the causes of enrollment change is outside of the scope of this study.

Investigating the causes of enrollment change is outside of the scope of this study. Students in the McKinney Vento program who are enrolled in NNPS schools are included in the enrollment figures and analysis.

Yes, the enrollment projections account for planned developments based on information provided by NNPS from the planning department. A map of all new developments included in the analysis is available on slide 79 in the appendix of the Round 1 Meeting Presentation available on the NNPS website.

Average time to school on the bus for students who attend a school through crosstown busing is 23 minutes, compared with 14 minutes for students who attend their zoned neighborhood school. Students who elect to attend magnet schools without a zone spend on average 25 minutes on the bus, and students who attend a magnet program at a school other than their zoned school spend on average 29 minutes on the bus.

Investigating the causes of enrollment change is outside of the scope of this study. Trends in enrollment observed for NNPS are in line with regional and national trends of declining K-12 enrollment.

NNPS defines school capacity according to the 'Optimal Capacity' of each school. This optimal capacity reflects the available instructional space within a school reflecting all existing core classroom spaces and specific program needs (such as special education, international baccalaureate and others). The specific program needs for each school reflect individual classroom uses as of June 2026 when site visits were conducted by WXY staff to all NNPS schools and classrooms.

WXY conducted site visits to all NNPS schools and classrooms in June 2026. Staff collected information on the size and current use of all classroom spaces. Details on the methodology for this data collection are contained in the Capacity, Utilization, and Enrollment Projections Report provided to NNPS in September 2026.

Capacity is based on state guidelines for the maximum number of students per classroom type by school level provided by Virginia DOE. These guidelines do not specify the number of educators present in each room.

Utilization is based on Optimal Capacity, as calculated during this study. School capacity is calculated using a count of classrooms, according to classroom type and capacity based on local and state guidelines. Classroom capacities are adjusted based on grade level and special program needs. Utilization is calculated by dividing a school's enrollment by its Optimal Capacity.

The limits on class sizes for students with disabilities have been reflected in the utilization values shown, based on the number and location of special education classes in June 2026. NNPS defines school capacity according to the 'Optimal Capacity' of each school. This optimal capacity reflects the available instructional space within a school reflecting all existing core classroom spaces and specific program needs (such as special education, international baccalaureate and others). The specific program needs for each school reflect individual classroom uses as of June 2026 when site visits were conducted by WXY staff to all NNPS schools and classrooms. The location and number of classes dedicated to special programs such as special education change from year to year so these should be understood as a snapshot in time.

Yes! Information on the utilization level for each school is included in the boundary explorer tool, please see the site at the following URL for more information: https://boundaries.nn.k12.va.us/

School capacities reflect current conditions for NNPS schools with the exception of Huntington Middle school where the current capacity reflects the anticipated capacity of the new school facility.

School capacities were developed based on site visits to all school and classroom spaces. School representatives at each school were asked to join to provide context and information on the current use of each classroom space. A separate survey to school leaders was not part of the process of data collection.

Yes all analysis for student time spent on the bus includes both students with disabilities and general education students.

The WXY team is not using AI for this analysis. We develop original analyses that are not executed through AI. Our development of webtools makes use of AI tools to assist with web development.