W.T. Cooke Elementary Scho…, Virginia Beach, VA

At a glance

School district: Virginia Beach City Public Schools
Grades served: PK-5
School type: Regular public school (not charter)
Principal: Kelly Padilla
Established: 1904 · this campus 2000
Enrollment: 555 students (2024-2025)
Student–teacher ratio: 14:1
Classroom teachers: 39.2 FTE
Accreditation: Fully Accredited (2025-2026)
NCES school ID: 510384001723

Academic performance

SOL pass rates · 2024-2025

Reading

73%

Mathematics

77%

Science

70%

History & Social Sci.

65%

Attendance

2024-2025

9.5% of students were chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days).

About W.T. Cooke Elementary School

W.T. Cooke Elementary traces its origins to 1904, when roughly forty oceanfront children were taught in two upstairs rooms of the Driftwood Cottage near 11th and 12th Streets under teacher Laura R. Washington. A permanent two-story brick schoolhouse opened in September 1913 on 15th Street at a cost of about $14,000. Sometime after 1919 the school was named for Willoughby Talbot Cooke, a retired Norfolk businessman who joined the Virginia Beach School Board in 1919 and was known for his interest in local education.

The school was expanded and renovated repeatedly through the 20th century, with additions in 1946 and 1954 and a gymnasium in 1991, before being fully rebuilt. The current facility opened in 2000 on the same 15th Street/Mediterranean Avenue site in the Virginia Beach Oceanfront area, designed to serve 550+ students. Today it operates within Virginia Beach City Public Schools, serving grades PK-5 and offering a Gifted & Talented program.

Contact

Phone: (757) 648-2320

Official school website ↗

Data sources

NCES Common Core of Data — W.T. Cooke Elementary — NCES School ID, enrollment (555), grades PK-5, classroom teachers FTE (39.20), student-teacher ratio (14.16), locale (City, Large), charter status, race/ethnicity counts, free/reduced lunch counts2024-2025 link ↗
Virginia School Quality Profiles — W.T. Cooke Elementary — Accreditation status, SOL pass rates (reading/math/science/history), demographics percentages, economically disadvantaged, English learners, students with disabilities, chronic absenteeism, principal, grades2024-2025 metrics; 2025-2026 accreditation link ↗
Cooke Elementary School — Our School (VBCPS) — Founding/history (1904 origins, 1913 building, 2000 rebuild), phone, official website URL2026 link ↗
Wikimedia Commons — US Navy photo at W.T. Cooke Elementary — Public-domain (US Navy) photo taken at the school2010 link ↗

Photo: U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Christina M. Shaw (public domain), via Wikimedia Commons, Public domain (PD-USGov-Military-Navy) via Wikimedia Commons

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

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