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Portsmouth City Public Schools · Middle School · Grades 7-8

Wm. E. Waters Middle School

600 Roosevelt Boulevard, Portsmouth, VA 23701

✓ Fully Accredited · 2025-2026
This year · 2025–26
1.6/10
Below state average
Last year · 2024–25
2.4/10
Below state average
▼ Down 0.8 from 2024–25
VaHome School Score

Rating: VaHome School Score, computed from Virginia Department of Education data (2025–26) — methodology on this page. Profile data: NCES & Virginia DOE. School boundaries can change — verify zoning with the district before relying on it.

Wm. E. Waters Middle School phone & website

Phone
(757) 558-2813
Principal
Jennelle Burden
Address
600 Roosevelt Boulevard, Portsmouth, VA 23701
Official school website ↗

Score breakdown

Compared against all 337 Virginia public middle schools. 1–4 is below the state average, 5–6 around it, 7–10 above it.

1.6 · Test scores

SOL pass rate of 50.3% across all subjects — 7th percentile statewide.

1.8 · Academic progress

63% of students showed growth in reading and 61% in math — 9th percentile.

1.1 · Attendance

Chronic absenteeism of 29.2% — better attendance than 1% of peers statewide.

Year over year: 1.6 for 2025–26, compared with 2.4 for 2024–25 — down 0.8.

Test scores by subject

Percent of students passing Virginia SOL tests, 2025–26.

This school Virginia average
Geometry
81%state 82%
Algebra I
94%state 86%
Civics & Econ
57%state 73%
Grade 8 Science
41%state 66%
Grade 7 Mathematics
32%state 60%
Grade 8 Mathematics
41%state 62%
Grade 7 English Reading
55%state 73%
Grade 8 English Reading
53%state 74%

Source: Virginia Department of Education, School Quality Profiles — SOL pass rates, 2025–26.

Wm. E. Waters Middle School & its school zone

A public middle school in Portsmouth Public Schools, Wm. E. Waters Middle School anchors its attendance zone in Portsmouth, VA 23701. Buyers searching homes for sale near Wm. E. Waters Middle School are shopping this Portsmouth school zone, one of the areas families compare when weighing Portsmouth middle school zones. On the VaHome School Score the school earns 1.6/10 — below the state average among Virginia's 337 public middle schools, based on Virginia Department of Education data for 2025–26. That is down from 2.4 in 2024–25.

The school's overall SOL pass rate is 50.3%, with stronger-than-state results in Algebra I (94% vs an 86% state average). On Virginia's 2025–26 growth measures, 63% of students showed growth in English reading and 61% in math. Chronic absenteeism is 29.2%, compared with the 11.9% state median for middle schools.

For house hunters comparing Portsmouth school zones, the listings on this page show active REIN MLS homes near Wm. E. Waters Middle School. School zoning and attendance boundaries can change between school years — always verify a specific address's assignment directly with Portsmouth Public Schools before making a housing decision based on school zone.

How the VaHome School Score works

  • Test scores (50%): the school's SOL pass rate across all subjects, ranked against every Virginia public school of the same level.
  • Academic progress (30%): Virginia's growth rates — the share of students who showed year-over-year growth in English reading and in math — ranked statewide.
  • Attendance (20%): chronic absenteeism, ranked statewide (lower is better).
  • What changed for 2025–26: Virginia retired the accreditation “combined rate” we used for academic progress in 2024–25, so progress now uses the state's student growth rates. Virginia publishes no growth measure for high schools, so their 20% now goes to attendance. The year-over-year comparison at the top uses the score we published for 2024–25; part of a school's change can come from this method update.
  • The weighted statewide percentile maps to a score from 1.0 to 10.0: score = 1 + 9 × percentile. 1–4 is below the state average, 5–6 around it, 7–10 above it.
  • Every input is public data from the Virginia Department of Education, refreshed each school year. No opinions, no black box — you can check our math.

Data: Virginia Department of Education School Quality Profiles (2025–26) · NCES. VaHome is not affiliated with VDOE, NCES, or GreatSchools.

At a glance

School district
Portsmouth City Public Schools
Grades served
7-8
School type
Public (regular)
Enrollment
526 students (2025-2026)
Student–teacher ratio
12:1
Classroom teachers
46 FTE
Accreditation
Fully Accredited (2025-2026)
NCES school ID
510300001265

Academic performance

SOL pass rates · 2025-2026
Reading
54%
Mathematics
48%
Science
41%
History & Social Sci.
57%

Attendance

2025-2026

29.2% of students were chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days).

About Wm. E. Waters Middle School

William E. Waters Middle School (also styled Wm. E. Waters Middle School) is a public middle school serving grades 7 and 8 in Portsmouth, Virginia. It is one of the middle schools operated by Portsmouth City Public Schools and is located at 600 Roosevelt Boulevard in the western part of the independent city of Portsmouth (ZIP 23701), within the Hampton Roads region of southeastern Virginia.

For the 2024-2025 school year the school enrolled roughly 549-550 students and employed about 46 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of approximately 11.9 to 1. The Virginia Department of Education classified the school as Fully Accredited for the 2025-2026 school year. NCES classifies its setting as a small city.

Data sources

Figures reflect the 2025-2026 (Virginia DOE SOL, attendance, enrollment); 2024-2025 (NCES staffing); accreditation SY2025-2026 unless noted. School zoning, boundaries, and ratings change — verify with the school division before making housing decisions.

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