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Home
About PPS
Contact Us
Freedom of Information Act
Directories
Administrative Phone Directory
Addresses for Administrative Offices
Directory of Offices & Services
School Principal Directory
Departments
Departments A-F
Adult Education
Art Education
Athletics and Activities
Budget Department
Career & Technical Ed.
Curriculum and Instruction
DANCE
Education Opportunities
English
Facilities/Maintenance
Finance Department
Food Services
Foreign Language
Departments G-M
Gifted and Talented
Health & Physical Education
Health Services
Human Resources
Library Media Services
Mathematics
Music Education
Departments N-Z
PSET Video
School Psychology
Procurement Office
School Nutrition
Science
Social Studies Education
Office of Special Education
Student Services
Transportation
Wellness for Parents & Students
Youth Risk
School Counseling
History
Mission Statement
Newsroom
Budget
School Quality Profile
Strategic Plan
Superintendent
Families
Attendance Zones & Bus Routes
Calendar
District Calendar
2019-20 Instructional Calendar
Every Day Counts
Parent & Family Tips
Parent Notification System
Parent Portal
Parent Portal Help
PTA
Scholarship Information
School Closing Procedures
School Hours
School Safety
Special Education Parent Resource Center
Student Registration
Online Registration Forms
Registration FAQs
Registration FAQs
PreK & Kindergarten Registration
Supporting Military Families
Planning Your Arrival to Portsmouth Public Schools
Preparing Your Move from Portsmouth Public Schools
Academic Planning for Military Families
Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunities
Special Needs Navigation and Parental Rights
Technology
Students
Library Media Services
Reading List
Scholarship Information
School Meal Menus
Technology
Student Portal
Student Handbook
Dress Code
Attendance Handbook
Anti-Bullying Pledge
Code of Conduct
Resources
Career Programs
Jobs
Staff
Benefits and Retirement
Employee Hotline
Staff Website
Resources
Check Email
Internal Resources
PowerTeacher Pro
PowerTeacher Resources
SearchSoft ATS
Tienet
AcceliTRACK
Raptor
PowerSchool Admin
PS Reg
Other Services
AESOP
AsureForce
MUNIS ESS
TalentEd Perform and Records
Safe Schools
Community
Get Involved!
School and Building Rentals
ACCESS College Foundation
School Board
Goals
Student Representative
Meetings & Information
Contact School Board
BoardDocs Meeting Agendas & Information
Meeting Dates
School Board Meeting Dates
Meeting Minutes
Code of Conduct for School Board Members
2007-17 Comprehensive Plan
Archived Meeting Agendas and Information
School Board By-Laws
School Board Organization
Meeting Dates
Meeting Minutes
Mr. Claude C. Parent
Mrs. Costella B. Williams
Mr. De'Andre A. Barnes
Mrs. Sarah Duncan Hinds
Mr. Ted J. Lamb
Rev. Cardell C. Patillo
Mrs. Tamara L. Shewmake
Ms. LaKeesha S. "Klu" Atkinson
Ms. Angelia N. Allen
School Board Special Committee Assignments & Organization
Watch a Live or Archived Meeting
Policies
SECTION A
SECTION B
SECTION C
SECTION D
SECTION E
SECTION F
SECTION G
SECTION H
SECTION I
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History
A Brief History of Public Education in Portsmouth
1848-1960
I – Historical Background
The present public school system of Portsmouth came into being as the result of an act of the General Assembly, 1869-1870. Prior to this time, however, a system of primary schools had been established in the City as a result of an act of the General Assembly in 1846. This act established a system of “free education for all classes”, but required the assent of two-thirds of the electorate of a county or city before it could be put into effect. In 1848, Portsmouth took advantage of this act by organizing a system of public education and electing a Board, which was given entire control of its affairs. The members of this first School Board were Captain Samuel Watts, William Cocke, Stephen Cowley, George Chambers, Henry Phillips, Joseph Porter and Robert Scott. Most of these men who comprised this board were prominent in the business, social and civic life of the City. The Reverend Dr. Thomas Hume, Pastor of Court Street Baptist Church was elected superintendent for both Norfolk County and Portsmouth Schools. These schools, like suffrage, were open to all whites under certain conditions. A small tuition was required of all who were able to pay, the poorer children being cared for by funds received from the sale of the Glebe lands.
There were two broad divisions in these schools corresponding somewhat to our present primary and grammar grade departments, with each further divided into male and female sections. The primary section was taught in the basement of the old Court Street Baptist Church on the same site upon which the present church stands. The second or grammar grade section was taught in the Masonic Temple, which occupied the site upon which the present Masonic Temple stands.
Superintendent Hume evidently was a progressive educator, as we have a record of his attending the National Teachers’ Meeting in Philadelphia in 1850 in an effort to glean new ideas and to become informed concerning the best practices of the time.
The schools of Norfolk County and Portsmouth were without doubt operated along the most progressive lines of the times, as William Maddox in his book “The Free School Idea in Virginia Before the Civil War”, tells us.
“The Free School Systems established in Norfolk, Elizabeth City, Princess Anne, Northampton, King George, Albemarle, Accomac, Washington, Ohio, Kanawha and Jefferson Counties and in the cities of Norfolk, Portsmouth, Fredericksburg and Wheeling were typical of the best American education development of the times.”
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