The Virginia Beach School Board will hold a public hearing Wednesday to get input on a plan to consolidate Bayside 6th Grade Campus and Bayside Middle School.
The meeting will be held from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM at Bayside Middle, 965 Newtown Road. Anyone interested in speaking at the hearing can contact the board secretary at 757-263-1016.
The hearing comes after a unanimous Oct. 8 vote by the board to prioritize the replacement of Princess Anne High School, which is about 70 years old. According to a 2017 long-term facilities plan, the high school is one of the top candidates for replacement in the division.
The Bayside 6th Grade Campus and Bettie F. Williams Elementary are also on the list. Both are over 60 years old. Discussions about priority construction projects have been going on for months.
The proposed changes to Bayside, which were first discussed at a spring board meeting, would return sixth-graders to the Bayside Middle School campus, which currently houses seventh- and eighth-graders. The changes would come into effect in 2025-2026.
In 2014, a separate sixth-grade campus was created because the high school was not meeting pass rates for English and reading tests and was at risk of losing accreditation. The split led, among other things, to smaller classes – and the pass rate for exams on the campuses increased.
However, administrators told board members this year that they are confident students will continue to do well when they return to high school, thanks to additional support such as instructional coaches, new teaching strategies, additional funding and a more engaged community.
The board will vote on the Bayside proposal at its Nov. 12 meeting.
Nour Habib, nour.habib@virginiamedia.com
