Best Public Schools in Zip Code 23321

Zip code 23321 in Chesapeake, Virginia is home to six schools within the Chesapeake City Public Schools district, serving students from Pre-K through 12th grade with a total enrollment of 6,104 students. The district is ranked 34th out of 131 Virginia districts, and four of the six local schools hold a 4-star rating. The area includes one high school, two middle schools, and three elementary schools. Notably, five of the six schools have very similar poverty levels at roughly 73% free/reduced lunch, while Edwin W. Chittum Elementary stands out dramatically with only 20% of students receiving free/reduced lunch, and it delivers the strongest academic results in the area.

Edwin W. Chittum Elementary is the academic standout, ranking in the 81st percentile of Virginia elementary schools with test scores well above district and state averages across math, reading, science, and social studies. Jolliff Middle is the top-ranked middle school, sitting in the 75th percentile with the lowest student-teacher ratio in the area (11.5 to 1), the highest per-student spending at $12,110, and perfect proficiency in advanced math courses. Western Branch High is the most improved school, jumping from the 60th to 75th percentile in statewide rankings over just two years, powered by outstanding 9th grade SOL scores in Algebra I, Biology, and Geography.

Chronic absenteeism is primarily a high school issue here: while elementary and middle schools all fall below the district average of 11.1%, Western Branch High sits at 16.3%, above the state rate of 14.8%. Both middle schools feed the high school with a strong advanced math pipeline, achieving 100% proficiency in Algebra I and Geometry. However, the Western Branch Primary and Western Branch Intermediate split model shows some academic difficulty at the intermediate level, which holds the lowest ranking in the area at the 57th percentile. Additionally, while Jolliff Middle receives more funding per student than Western Branch Middle, it does not universally outperform its less-resourced counterpart in reading and 7th grade math, suggesting that spending alone doesn't tell the whole story.