Schools in Zip Code 23606

Zip code 23606 in Newport News, Virginia, contains 4 schools within the Newport News City Public Schools district: 3 elementary schools and 1 middle school serving 2,517 students, with no high schools or alternative schools in the immediate area. All four schools serve extremely high-poverty populations, with free/reduced lunch eligibility ranging from 97.7% to 100%.

Among the elementary schools, Richard T. Yates Elementary is the clear standout, with the highest average SOL proficiency (65.1%), the best state rank (29th percentile), and the lowest chronic absenteeism rate (14.4%) — the only school in the group below both district and state averages. This is especially notable given that Yates spends less per student and has larger class sizes than Hidenwood Elementary, which spends the most ($10,757 per student) and has the smallest classes (14.8 students per teacher) yet still trails Yates by about 5 percentage points. Riverside Elementary is the most challenged school, with the lowest proficiency (49.8%) and a 0-star rating, having declined from the 12th to the 7th percentile over three years. Ethel M. Gildersleeve Middle shows a sharp internal divide: advanced math results are exceptional (100% proficiency in 7th grade Algebra I), but on-grade-level math and reading lag state averages.

Chronic absenteeism above 20% affects Riverside, Hidenwood, and Gildersleeve, and reading proficiency is a systemic weakness across the zip code. The absence of a local high school means the data cannot capture postsecondary readiness for this neighborhood. Despite the district's bottom-quintile rating, Yates and Gildersleeve's advanced math program demonstrate that strong results are achievable, making attendance and literacy support the most promising targets for improvement.