Elementary School Advice (Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Portsmouth: transfer, neighborhood, elementary schools)

[COA33]

Best private or public elementary schools in HR - would be grateful for any advice - looking for a great school & to avoid a long commute (working in Norfolk). Small class size would be great.

I've been looking into Norfolk Academy, Collegiate, Williams School, Nansemond-Suffolk, etc....b/c I've heard that the commutes from places with good public schools into Norfolk is tough.

Thanks in advance!

[tabula rasa]

I can't speak to the academics of any of them (no kids), but I can talk about access to the Norfolk schools.

Williams is the hardest to get to; it's in a high income neighborhood between downtown and the hospital complex on the west side. It would take numerous traffic lights to get to either I-264 in the middle of downtown or the US 58 Midtown Tunnel (tolls) past the hospital to get to Portsmouth. The streets around Williams are flood-prone, and there is minimal parking. Also, Williams is only a K-8 school, so you're looking at a transfer once the kids are old enough.

Norfolk Academy and Norfolk Collegiate, which both go all the way through high school, have campuses within a few blocks of I-64 interchanges, though you have to drive through crowded retail zones to get to/from the schools. They are definitely more accessible from Virginia Beach or the Peninsula. Academy, which is just off US 13 (Northampton Boulevard) and near the Virginia Beach line, is doable from the Eastern Shore.

[COA33]

Thanks for that traffic & parking info - very helpful. We aren't 100% sure where we'll be living - probably in Norfolk.

[cmlottie]

Hi COA33, I have recently relocated to HR and looking into private schools as well. Did you decide on a school yet? Did you decide to settle in Norfolk? I'm currently in NN and looking at private schools around the area.

Thanks