About Us

HISTORY OF CHURCHLAND ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Churchland Elementary School had its beginning in the fall of 1954 when the old Churchland High School was completed. Prior to that time the building, which is now Churchland Academy, housed both high and elementary school students from the Western Branch area of Norfolk County.

The first year of operation in the Churchland Academy building had grades one through six and pupils were drawn from the Western Branch area and some from the Hodges Manor-Simonsdale sections. The current Churchland Elementary School was completed in 1958. Dedication ceremonies were held in October with the principle speaker being the Honorable Porter Hardy, Jr., member of Congress. Boundary lines fluctuated as the school population expanded and as new schools were built in the area. The City of Chesapeake was formed in 1963, and the school became part of that system.

With the annexation of the area by Portsmouth in 1968, thirteen additional classrooms were added, bringing the total to 38. To provide needed services for the students, four mobile classrooms were placed on the site in early 1972. The mobile classrooms are no longer part of the school.

With the decision by the Portsmouth School Board to return the sixth grade to the elementary level in the fall of 2005, four additional classrooms were built during the 2004-2005 school year. The most recent addition to our school was our new gymnasium.

Churchland Elementary has prospered since 1958 under the leadership of the following principals:

  • Garfield Shafer - 1958-1974
  • Patricia Holmes - 1974-1977
  • Cecelia Curcio - 1977-1987
  • Betty J. Bartlett - 1987-1993
  • Dr. Shelia G. Hill - 1993-1995
  • Dr. Betty J. Bartlett - 1995-1998
  • Margarette Bartlett - 1998-2006
  • Michèle Ramey - 2006-2016
  • Dr. Jamill Jones - 2016-present
VDOE School Quality Profile
Website by SchoolMessenger Presence. © 2024 SchoolMessenger Corporation. All rights reserved.