Education in Norfolk, Virginia

Norfolk, Virginia offers many educational opportunities. Schools, public and private, are located all over the city.

Elementary, secondary

Norfolk City Public Schools, the public school system, comprises 5 high schools, 9 middle schools, 35 elementary schools, and 9 special-purpose/preschools. In 2005, Norfolk Public Schools won the $1 million Broad Prize for Urban Education award for having demonstrated, "the greatest overall performance and improvement in student achievement while reducing achievement gaps for poor and minority students".^[1] The city had previously been nominated in 2003 and 2004. Ocean View Elementary School is an American public primary school in the community of Ocean View in the city of Norfolk, Virginia. It teaches grades one through five, in addition to its Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten programs for younger children. After completing grade five, most students go to Northside Middle School, which is also located in the Ocean View community.

There are also a number of private schools located in the city, the oldest of which, Norfolk Academy, was founded in 1728.

Post Secondary

Norfolk is home to three public universities and one private. It also hosts a community college campus in downtown.

• Old Dominion University - Founded as a branch of The College of William and Mary in 1930, ODU became an independent institution in 1962 and now offers degrees in 68 undergraduate and 95 (60 masters/35 doctoral) graduate degree programs.
• Eastern Virginia Medical School- Founded as a community medical school by the surrounding jurisdictions in 1973, EVMS is noted for its research into reproductive medicine and is located in the region's major medical complex in the Ghent District.
• Norfolk State University - The country's fifth largest majority black university, offers degrees in a wide variety of liberal arts.
• Virginia Wesleyan College - Small private liberal arts college, shares its eastern border with the neighboring city of Virginia Beach.
• Tidewater Community College - Community college offering two-year degrees and specialized training programs, located in downtown.

Medicine

Because of the prominence of Naval Medical Center Portsmouth and V.A. Hospital in Hampton, Norfolk has had a strong role in medicine. Norfolk is served by Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, Sentara Leigh Hospital, Bon Secours DePaul Medical Center, and the Lake Taylor Hospital. The City is also home to the Children's Hospital for the King's Daughters.^[2]

It is known for its specialists in diabetes, dermatology, and obstetrics. It achieved international fame on March 1, 1980, when Drs. Georgianna and Howard Jones opened the first in vitro fertilization clinic in the U.S. at EVMS. The country's first in vitro test-tube baby was born there in December 1981.^[3]

The international headquarters of Operation Smile, a nonprofit organization that specializes in repairing facial deformities in underprivileged children from around the globe is based in the city.^[4] Operation Smile and the City of Virginia Beach have announced that the organizations headquarters will move to Virginia Beach.^[5]

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