Beta You're viewing our redesigned school list. Prefer the classic layout?

Suffolk City Public Schools

New rankings! Virginia test scores for the 2025-26 school year were just released — SchoolDigger posted updated rankings this week.

Be the first to know when we post new rankings!

At a glance

72^ndof 131 Virginia districts▲ 2

Better than 45% of Virginia districts

Elementary 11 Middle 5 High 3Grades PK, KG-12

100 N Main St
Suffolk, VA 23439·(757) 925-6750·All Virginia district rankings →

Statewide performance 2018–2026

2026: better than 45% of districts

Schools

14,565

Students

Top rankedJohn Yeates Middle61^st of 416 Virginia middle schools

▲

Biggest riser

Booker T. Washington Elementary up 196 spots statewide this year

◉

Smallest classes

John F. Kennedy Middle 9 students per teacher

SchoolDigger ratings

4★

3★

2★

1★

3 schools without a SchoolDigger rating (too few tested students)

Compare Virginia districts →See the top-ranked Virginia schools →

Summary:

Suffolk City Public Schools serves approximately 14,565 students across 19 schools in southeastern Virginia — 11 elementary, 5 middle, and 3 high schools — and ranks 72nd of 131 Virginia districts with a 2-star rating. Every school serves a high-poverty population, with free/reduced lunch eligibility between 67.21% and 70.44%. District-wide chronic absenteeism (17.6%) exceeds the state average (14.8%), and per-student spending ranges from $6,465 at Hillpoint Elementary to $12,312 at Booker T. Washington Elementary.

The district's leaders are John Yeates Middle (85th percentile, 4 stars, 9.3% absenteeism), Nansemond River High (96.9% graduation, 1.4% dropout), and elementary schools Northern Shores Elementary (71st percentile) and Oakland Elementary (70th percentile), which beat state averages in most subjects. By contrast, Lakeland High is the most at-risk school, with an 85.9% graduation rate, a 7.7% dropout rate, and a district-high 28.6% chronic absenteeism rate. Elephant's Fork Elementary, Hillpoint Elementary, and John F. Kennedy Middle rank in the bottom third of Virginia schools.

Three insights matter most for parents. First, high poverty does not prevent high performance — Suffolk's top schools all serve FRL populations near 70%. Second, advanced math is a district strength, with 100% Algebra I proficiency at multiple middle schools, but VA/US History is a major weakness, with high school proficiency from 16.33% at Lakeland High to 25.93% at Nansemond River High versus the state's 34.52%. Third, attendance is the clearest predictor of success: the lowest-absenteeism schools (Northern Shores Elementary at 7.6%, Colonel Fred Cherry Middle at 9.0%, and John Yeates Middle at 9.3%) rank highest, while the highest-absenteeism schools rank lowest. Notably, Southwestern Elementary jumped from the 42nd to 67th percentile in two years, while Forest Glen Middle slipped from the 55th to 36th percentile.

Load more schools when map is moved

Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				SOL Writing (2026)		SOL Geometry (2026)			SOL Algebra I (2026)						SOL Algebra II (2026)	SOL Mathematics (2026)						SOL Biology (2026)				SOL Science (2026)		SOL Earth Science (2026)				SOL English Reading (2026)								SOL VA and US History (2026)		SOL World History I (2026)				SOL World History II (2026)	SOL Civics and Economics (2026)	SOL VA Studies (2026)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	SOL Writing 11th Grade	SOL Writing 12th Grade	SOL Geometry 8th Grade	SOL Geometry 9th Grade	SOL Geometry 10th Grade	SOL Algebra I 7th Grade	SOL Algebra I 8th Grade	SOL Algebra I 9th Grade	SOL Algebra I 10th Grade	SOL Algebra I 11th Grade	SOL Algebra I 12th Grade	SOL Algebra II 9th Grade	SOL Mathematics 3rd Grade	SOL Mathematics 4th Grade	SOL Mathematics 5th Grade	SOL Mathematics 6th Grade	SOL Mathematics 7th Grade	SOL Mathematics 8th Grade	SOL Biology 9th Grade	SOL Biology 10th Grade	SOL Biology 11th Grade	SOL Biology 12th Grade	SOL Science 5th Grade	SOL Science 8th Grade	SOL Earth Science 9th Grade	SOL Earth Science 10th Grade	SOL Earth Science 11th Grade	SOL Earth Science 12th Grade	SOL English Reading 3rd Grade	SOL English Reading 4th Grade	SOL English Reading 5th Grade	SOL English Reading 6th Grade	SOL English Reading 7th Grade	SOL English Reading 8th Grade	SOL English Reading 11th Grade	SOL English Reading 12th Grade	SOL VA and US History 11th Grade	SOL VA and US History 12th Grade	SOL World History I 9th Grade	SOL World History I 10th Grade	SOL World History I 11th Grade	SOL World History I 12th Grade	SOL World History II 10th Grade	SOL Civics and Economics 7th Grade	SOL VA Studies 4th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Northern Shores Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	6701 Respass Beach Rd	Suffolk	23435	Suffolk city	Suffolk City Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(757) 923-4169	798	41	19.4	69.0%	249 (31.2%)	335 (42.0%)	95 (11.9%)	36 (4.5%)	7 (0.9%)	2 (0.3%)	74 (9.3%)	71.9	323^rd of 1111 public elementary schools	70.9%		75.2	285^th of 1110 public elementary schools	74.3%	38													82.4	78.1	86.1								83.5						77.4	75.0	82.0														81.3	$7,174	$544	$6,630
Booker T. Washington Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	204 Walnut Street	Suffolk	23434	Suffolk city	Suffolk City Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(757) 934-6226	362	25	14.4	70.4%	39 (10.8%)	277 (76.5%)	21 (5.8%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	24 (6.6%)	37.3	764^th of 1111 public elementary schools	31.2%		17.1	960^th of 1110 public elementary schools	13.5%	196													65.0	63.1	72.5								60.9						55.0	73.9	71.0														64.6	$12,312	$2,563	$9,749
Florence Bowser Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	4540 Nansemond Pkwy	Suffolk	23435	Suffolk city	Suffolk City Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(757) 923-4106	926	44	21.0	69.3%	350 (37.8%)	358 (38.7%)	128 (13.8%)	12 (1.3%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	77 (8.3%)	54.5	564^th of 1111 public elementary schools	49.2%		66.4	401^st of 1110 public elementary schools	63.9%	163													70.1	76.7	76.9								71.4						60.5	76.7	77.4														74.1	$6,667	$285	$6,381
Forest Glen Middle	Public	6-8	200 Forest Glen Dr	Suffolk	23434	Suffolk city	Suffolk City Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(757) 925-5780	433	35	12.3	67.2%	207 (47.8%)	176 (40.6%)	22 (5.1%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.7%)	1 (0.2%)	24 (5.5%)	44.1	268^th of 416 public middle schools	35.6%		41.5	268^th of 419 public middle schools	36.0%				100.0			100.0	93.6									66.3	37.5	51.8						57.1								73.8	70.9	70.7										63.9		$9,298	$197	$9,101
John F. Kennedy Middle	Public	6-8	2325 E Washington St	Suffolk	23434	Suffolk city	Suffolk City Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(757) 934-6212	498	55	9.0	68.7%	75 (15.1%)	348 (69.9%)	47 (9.4%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.4%)	25 (5.0%)	37.6	297^th of 416 public middle schools	28.6%		32.1	315^th of 419 public middle schools	24.8%	18						100.0	93.3									55.9	53.2	68.9						56.4								67.1	59.7	76.4										49.4		$9,350	$291	$9,059
John Yeates Middle	Public	6-8	4901 Bennetts Pasture Rd	Suffolk	23435	Suffolk city	Suffolk City Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(757) 923-4105	509	51	9.9	69.5%	215 (42.2%)	183 (36.0%)	40 (7.9%)	14 (2.8%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.4%)	55 (10.8%)	76.7	61^st of 416 public middle schools	85.3%		71	113^th of 419 public middle schools	73.0%	52			100.0			100.0	100.0									80.3	50.0	58.2						77.3								78.3	90.6	85.6										88.1		$10,855	$592	$10,263
Oakland Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	5505 Godwin Blvd	Suffolk	23434	Suffolk city	Suffolk City Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(757) 923-5248	464	26	17.8	68.8%	137 (29.5%)	245 (52.8%)	34 (7.3%)	4 (0.9%)	5 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	39 (8.4%)	71.5	329^th of 1111 public elementary schools	70.4%		77.3	258^th of 1110 public elementary schools	76.8%	71													93.3	79.4	89.6								79.1						81.4	76.2	86.6														61.9	$8,640	$897	$7,744
Southwestern Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	150 Pioneer Rd	Suffolk	23437	Suffolk city	Suffolk City Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(757) 925-5782	579	31	18.6	69.4%	324 (56.0%)	153 (26.4%)	53 (9.2%)	3 (0.5%)	3 (0.5%)	1 (0.2%)	42 (7.3%)	68.1	372^nd of 1111 public elementary schools	66.5%		64.8	423^rd of 1110 public elementary schools	61.9%	51													71.8	81.5	92.7								81.5						63.1	87.0	78.1														85.7	$7,804	$717	$7,087
Elephant's Fork Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	2316 William Reid Dr	Suffolk	23434	Suffolk city	Suffolk City Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(757) 923-5250	653	36	18.1	69.1%	140 (21.4%)	408 (62.5%)	56 (8.6%)	3 (0.5%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	45 (6.9%)	26.9	877^th of 1111 public elementary schools	21.1%		21.1	916^th of 1110 public elementary schools	17.5%	39													72.9	60.2	43.4								49.1						64.7	69.9	63.2														59.2	$8,038	$1,038	$6,999
Kilby Shores Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	111 Kilby Shores Dr	Suffolk	23434	Suffolk city	Suffolk City Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(757) 934-6214	494	29	17.0	69.2%	179 (36.2%)	211 (42.7%)	52 (10.5%)	2 (0.4%)	2 (0.4%)	3 (0.6%)	45 (9.1%)	39.6	738^th of 1111 public elementary schools	33.6%		52.1	573^rd of 1110 public elementary schools	48.4%	165													80.0	71.3	62.1								59.1						64.3	75.5	62.1														56.4	$9,375	$1,045	$8,330
Nansemond Parkway Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	3012 Nansemond Pkwy	Suffolk	23434	Suffolk city	Suffolk City Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(757) 923-4167	456	29	15.7	69.3%	135 (29.6%)	245 (53.7%)	31 (6.8%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	43 (9.4%)	48.6	622^nd of 1111 public elementary schools	44.0%		53.3	562^nd of 1110 public elementary schools	49.4%	60													59.2	82.7	76.4								65.5						46.7	80.0	74.6														77.3	$9,716	$1,110	$8,606
Mack Benn Junior Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	1253 Nansemond Pkwy	Suffolk	23434	Suffolk city	Suffolk City Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(757) 934-6224	713	44	16.2	69.3%	105 (14.7%)	480 (67.3%)	72 (10.1%)	2 (0.3%)	2 (0.3%)	2 (0.3%)	50 (7.0%)	32.6	814^th of 1111 public elementary schools	26.7%		35.4	766^th of 1110 public elementary schools	31.0%	48													60.2	76.3	57.1								58.1						50.4	77.4	64.8														66.7	$8,133	$1,251	$6,882
Nansemond River High	Public, Magnet	9-12	3301 Nansemond Pkwy	Suffolk	23435	Suffolk city	Suffolk City Public Schools	No	Yes	No	No	(757) 923-4101	1,683	109	15.4	68.9%	509 (30.2%)	831 (49.4%)	160 (9.5%)	43 (2.6%)	5 (0.3%)	6 (0.4%)	129 (7.7%)	67.8	99^th of 331 public high schools	70.1%		59.7	150^th of 328 public high schools	54.3%	51	86.3	88.0		88.7	15.4			87.4	65.0		90.0	100.0							93.3	66.4		63.2			70.0	71.1	52.9	63.6							93.6	72.4	25.9		80.8	69.2			44.2			$7,663	$32	$7,632
Lakeland High	Public, Magnet	9-12	214 Kenyon Road	Suffolk	23434	Suffolk city	Suffolk City Public Schools	No	Yes	No	No	(757) 925-5790	1,045	86	12.2	69.1%	344 (32.9%)	585 (56.0%)	58 (5.6%)	4 (0.4%)	3 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	51 (4.9%)	39.5	247^th of 331 public high schools	25.4%		42.4	240^th of 328 public high schools	26.8%	7	72.3	87.9		66.0	20.0			79.4				94.4							76.7	57.6	91.7														86.0	87.5	16.3		69.2		84.6		9.7			$9,071	$237	$8,834
King's Fork Middle	Public	6-8	350 Kings Fork Rd.	Suffolk	23434	Suffolk city	Suffolk City Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(757) 923-5246	986	72	13.6	68.8%	170 (17.2%)	670 (68.0%)	78 (7.9%)	11 (1.1%)	2 (0.2%)	3 (0.3%)	52 (5.3%)	29.6	330^th of 416 public middle schools	20.7%		31	320^th of 419 public middle schools	23.6%	10			100.0			100.0	97.5									62.2	44.0	30.5						42.7								64.5	72.7	61.5										59.8		$7,904	$196	$7,708
King's Fork High	Public	9-12	351 Kings Fork Road	Suffolk	23434	Suffolk city	Suffolk City Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(757) 923-5240	1,686	104	16.2	67.4%	262 (15.5%)	1,172 (69.5%)	111 (6.6%)	16 (0.9%)	5 (0.3%)	2 (0.1%)	118 (7.0%)	40.8	242^nd of 331 public high schools	26.9%		49.3	203^rd of 328 public high schools	38.1%	39	79.2	83.3		87.5	29.6			82.5	76.5	92.9	100.0	100.0							77.2	49.7	44.4	44.4			50.0	47.2	48.8	54.2							85.9	59.6	23.5	35.9	66.2	38.1		42.3	17.4			$7,684	$213	$7,471
Turlington Woods Alternative	Public		629 Turlington Rd	Suffolk	23434	Suffolk city	Suffolk City Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(757) 934-6215	0	15	.0		0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
Creekside Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	1000 Bennetts Creek Park Road	Suffolk	23435	Suffolk city	Suffolk City Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(757) 923-4251	764	47	16.2	69.4%	175 (22.9%)	403 (52.7%)	89 (11.6%)	17 (2.2%)	2 (0.3%)	2 (0.3%)	76 (9.9%)	58.5	499^th of 1111 public elementary schools	55.1%		49.1	612^th of 1110 public elementary schools	44.9%	113													69.1	78.9	84.2								75.6						60.9	77.2	78.3														73.0	$7,668	$685	$6,983
Hillpoint Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	1101 Hillpoint Rd	Suffolk	23434	Suffolk city	Suffolk City Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(757) 925-6750	780	39	20.0	69.2%	143 (18.3%)	479 (61.4%)	81 (10.4%)	13 (1.7%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	62 (7.9%)	27.9	869^th of 1111 public elementary schools	21.8%		28.3	846^th of 1110 public elementary schools	23.8%	23													57.3	67.5	68.6								48.6						52.9	68.8	62.3														65.1	$6,465	$664	$5,801
The College And Career Academy At Pruden	Public		4169 Pruden Blvd	Suffolk	23434	Suffolk city	Suffolk City Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(757) 925-5651	0	17	.0		0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
Colonel Fred Cherry Middle	Public	6-8	7401 Burbage Drive	Suffolk	23435	Suffolk city	Suffolk City Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(757) 925-6752	736	63	11.7	68.8%	165 (22.4%)	408 (55.4%)	69 (9.4%)	20 (2.7%)	3 (0.4%)	1 (0.1%)	70 (9.5%)	56.7	190^th of 416 public middle schools	54.3%		55.3	201^st of 419 public middle schools	52.0%	11			100.0			100.0	99.0									70.0	56.0	57.0						69.4								66.4	74.8	76.4										72.7		$7,997	$202	$7,796
First Academy	Public		4169 Pruden Blvd	Suffolk	23434	Suffolk city	Suffolk City Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(757) 923-5254																			(n/a)

Districts nearby

District	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Portsmouth City Public Schools	1.57 mi	23	114^th
Chesapeake City Public Schools	2.82 mi	48	34^th
Norfolk City Public Schools	5.87 mi	50	112^th
Newport News City Public Schools	5.89 mi	45	105^th
Department of Education State-Operated Educ Prgms	6.09 mi	23

See the top VA Virginia districts

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Virginia Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.