Newsome Park Elementary

As a cozy K-5 school in Newport News, Virginia, Newsome Park Elementary educates 386 students from grades pre-K through 5, part of Newport News City Public Schools. That puts it 23% leaner than the typical public school in Virginia, which averages around 499 students.

Newsome Park Elementary is one of 40 schools operated by Newport News City Public Schools, a district that enrolls 25,882 students overall.

On the student-mix side, Newsome Park Elementary reports that 85% of students identify as Black, making the school strongly Black-majority; the rest is composed of 9% Hispanic, 5% multiracial. That is visibly more Black than the county at large, where the share is closer to 41%.

In terms of school funding signals, On paper, Newsome Park Elementary has 25 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 15.4:1. The state averages around 13.8:1, so this campus is higher than the state norm typical. Around 98% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, On a poverty-adjusted basis, Newsome Park Elementary sits in the bottom 10% statewide. Predicted proficiency from the FRL regression is roughly 61.3%; actual is 37.6%, a gap of -23.7 points.

Across the wider county, census data for Newport News city shows median household earnings sit near $69,634, 31% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and roughly 11% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Newsome Park Elementary is one of 48 public schools in Newport News city (combined enrollment of about 25,882 students).

Nearest neighbor: Achievable Dream Middle/High, around 0.6 miles off. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. On composite proficiency, Newsome Park Elementary comes 7th of 8 in the immediate cluster, below the nearby-schools average of 59.1%.

The campus sits in a city-core setting.

Five-year trend. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Newsome Park Elementary has shrank 16%, going from 459 students in 2018 to 386 in 2025. The student-to-teacher ratio rose from 14.3:1 in 2018 to 15.4:1 today.

Inside the community feed, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around school events, parent volunteer needs, and clubs. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to weigh in.