Newport News Public Schools history

In July 1870, George M. Peek was appointed as Warwick County’s first Superintendent of Public Schools.

The Huntington School, opened in 1880, was operated by the Old Dominion Land Company as a free school for the children of shipyard workers for 35 years.

When Newport News incorporated in 1896, it assumed responsibility for two schools on 28th and 22nd Street.

Two new schools, Magruder and Stonewall Jackson, opened in 1902.

By 1916, the graduating class grew to sixteen girls and four boys

The county, too, was growing, especially at its northern end; a new high school opened in Denbigh and graduated its first class (of four) in 1917.

Menchville was the name of the waterfront property that was owned by the Mench family (Hudson and Sallie Mench) and sold to Warwick County in 1918 to establish the City Farm.

When Hilton Village was developed, plans called for a new school, which opened on a prime riverfront site in 1919.

The new city government, restructured in 1920, made education a priority, raising teacher salaries and building new schools.

Huntington Middle: Huntington Middle School was originally Collis P. Huntington High School (opened in 1927), a black high school located in the East End section of Newport News during the era of racial segregation.

B.T. Washington Middle School is located in the southeast area of Newport News and was established in 1928.

Newport News boasted one of the finest athletic fields in Virginia with the opening in 1935 of a concrete stadium (with classrooms below) at Newport News High School, built with the aid of a federal grant and bonds.

In 1936, the new Huntington High School was built, and the old Huntington was expanded and converted to the P. L. Dunbar grammar school.

Warwick High: The school originally opened in 1926 as Morrison High School in the small community of Morrison. It became Warwick High School in 1948.

The admission of 14 black children to previously all-white elementary schools in 1961 marked the first step.

Denbigh High: Denbigh High school was established in 1966 and is named for the Denbigh neighborhood in the northern portion of Newport News.

The facilities at Warwick High School were expanded to their present size in 1968.

Menchville High: The high school was established in 1970 and was named for its location on Menchville Road.

In 1971, B.C. Charles Elementary School was dedicated in his memory.

Kindergarten was introduced in 1972.

McIntosh Elementary School opened in the Denbigh section of Newport News in 1976.

In 1979, the School Board named Hines Middle School, formerly Carver Intermediate School, after him.

The School Board named a new elementary school in the Denbigh section for him in 1984, the year he retired.

In 1990, Hines Middle School moved into a new building and the old school was renovated and reopened as Crittenden.

The new Kiln Creek development led to a school with that name in 1991.

In 1992, Dunbar-Erwin became An Achievable Dream Academy, operated as a public/private partnership between Newport News Public Schools and An Achievable Dream, Inc. founded by Mr.

The first elections in 1994 brought to the Board Jananne D. Archibald, Effie C. Ashe, Herbert H. Bateman, Jr., and Mary B. Oder.

Doctor Wayne D. Lett, appointed superintendent in 1996, challenged the staff and community to establish Newport News as a “lighthouse district” for its excellence in programming for all children.

In 2000, the new Mary L. Passage Middle School was named in her honor.

In 2007, the program opened a secondary school for students in grades 6-12.

In 2010, school administration officials closed the nearby South Morrison Elementary School due to budget cuts, and that school's staff and students merged with Sedgefield Elementary School.

The high school's first graduating class received diplomas in 2011.

Discovery STEM Academy: The Newport News School Board unanimously voted to rename Magruder Elementary School as Discovery STEM Academy in 2016.