• Category 1

    Selected in 2020

  • Grades: pre k - 5
    School Setting: suburban
    Town Population: 449,974
    Student Enrollment: 435
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 55.6%
    White/Caucasian: 17.8%
    Hispanic: 7.5%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0.7%
    Asian: 7.9%
    Native American: 0%
    Other: 10.5%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:18
    % Reduced Lunch: 100%
    % ELL Learners: 3.5%
    Founded: 1987
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Krista Barton-Arnold
  • CONTACT:
    4180 O'Hare Drive
    Virginia Beach, VA 23453
    757-650-9005
    Kbarton@Vbschools.com
Parkway Elementary School
Virginia Beach, VA
We believe a positive, warm, loving, supportive school culture is essential to success."

Describe the most successful activity your school has initiated to strengthen ties to your community.
We have implemented a Be the Change campaign to address social issues facing our communities ( gun violence being a major concern). The Be the Change PBL has evolved into a movement that has united the school and the community.
Describe the program or initiative that has had the greatest positive effect on student achievement, including closing achievement or opportunity gaps, if applicable.
We used a combination of teacher clarity and student goal setting to assure the teachers clearly understood what the success criteria for the objectives are and the students clearly understood what they needed to do to achieve the learning target. Students kept their own data and wrote quarterly goals. Students met with administrators and their teachers to share their goals.
Identify the critical professional development activities you use to improve teaching and student learning.
Effective and timely Professional Development has been a cornerstone for the success at Parkway. We began our journey 6 years ago focusing on the effects of poverty, Responsive Classroom and Trauma Informed practices. We emphasized high quality tiered one small group instruction, the Science of Reading , Student Led Coaching, and Inquiry.
Describe how data is used to improve student achievement and inform decision making.
We continually surround ourselves with our data. We have a no excuses and no shame philosophy. Here is where we are, here is where we need to go, how do we get there? We dive deeply into our data, down to the individual student.
Describe your school culture and explain changes you’ve taken to improve it.
We believe a positive, warm, loving, supportive school culture is essential to success. Each member of our staff is an important part of the team. We have worked hard to develop a strong sense of community as well as pride in our students achievements. We believe it is the little things that make a big difference in a school culture. The continuous communication, the flexibility, the support, the belief. This has been especially challenging during the pandemic. We are fortunate to have had a strong base of a loving community to lean into during these difficult months of school closure and virtual learning.
Stats
  • Category 1

    Selected in 2020

  • Grades: pre k - 5
    School Setting: suburban
    Town Population: 449,974
    Student Enrollment: 435
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 55.6%
    White/Caucasian: 17.8%
    Hispanic: 7.5%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0.7%
    Asian: 7.9%
    Native American: 0%
    Other: 10.5%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:18
    % Reduced Lunch: 100%
    % ELL Learners: 3.5%
    Founded: 1987
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Krista Barton-Arnold
  • CONTACT:
    4180 O'Hare Drive
    Virginia Beach, VA 23453
    757-650-9005
    Kbarton@Vbschools.com