Summary:
Zip code 23509 in Norfolk, VA is served by a single elementary school: Willard Elementary, which enrolls 441 students in grades PK–5 within Norfolk City Public Schools. This is a high-poverty school where essentially all students qualify for free or reduced lunch, yet it maintains a favorable student-teacher ratio of 11.3 and per-student spending of $9,910. Because it is the only school in the area, the analysis focuses on how it compares to its district and state benchmarks.
Academically, Willard Elementary is a clear leader within its district, outperforming Norfolk City Public Schools in every reported subject and grade level on 2025–2026 SOL tests—often by large margins, such as a 10.8-point gap in 4th-grade Virginia Studies. However, it trails Virginia state averages in nearly all subjects, with the closest gap in 3rd-grade reading (64.94% vs. 67.61%) and the largest in 4th-grade math (57.58% vs. 73.29%). The school's state ranking has slipped steadily from the 43rd percentile in 2023–24 to the 27th percentile in 2025–26, mirroring sharp year-over-year drops in math proficiency (down 5–12 points) and a nearly 10-point decline in 3rd-grade reading. On a positive note, 4th-grade reading, 5th-grade science, and 5th-grade Virginia Studies all improved over the same period.
Attendance is a notable bright spot: chronic absenteeism at Willard Elementary is 13.0%, better than both the district (17.9%) and the state (14.8%). The low student-teacher ratio also provides a supportive learning environment. For parents, the picture is mixed: this is a school doing well relative to its immediate district but struggling to reach state averages, with recent momentum lost especially in math. Families should watch whether the declining ranking and math scores stabilize, while recognizing that the school's attendance and district-leading performance show genuine strengths in a challenging context.
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