r/williamsburgva • u/limonegirl • 8d ago
Elementary school recommendations
We’re a military family expecting to move in the next few months down to the area to work at Newport News Shipyard. I’ve heard that the Williamsburg area is ideal for safety and school education.
Our eldest will start kindergarten next August and our youngest will be 2.
It seems like neighborhoods zoned for Magruder elementary or Waller Mill might make the most sense logistical for the commute to Newport News everyday. Do you recommend one school over the other? If so, why? Would love any info on teachers, programs, any recent experiences.. the good, the bad and everything in between. Class sizes are also important, so any insight on that would be appreciated.
Is one school zone neighborhood more conveniently located than the other— such as grocery stores, restaurants, etc?
We were most interested in language immersion (kids currently have that now), but that doesn’t seem to be offered at any of the schools. I do know that Waller Mill is a magnet school, but I’m not sure how much of difference that makes at the Kindergarten and first grade levels compared to the extra 15 minutes it would add on to the commute each day (it looks like Magruder is located more south, closer to work). Tell me if you think Waller Mill is worth the slightly longer commute.
Bonus points if you have any recommendations for daycare/preschools located close by one of the elementary schools! We’ll be moving midyear so the oldest child will go to the preschool first before starting kindergarten, while the youngest child would remain in the preschool the entire time.
Thanks in advance for helping a military family out!
Update: someone mention Tabb or Mount Vernon elementary— please give personal insights into that school/neighborhood as well! Thank you
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u/ambitiousbee3 8d ago
Keep an eye on the school rezoning as well as that could shift things
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u/theravemom 8d ago
Waller Mill and Magruder are not impacted because they're in York County Schools, not Williamsburg James City County.
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u/BroadAd2666 8d ago
I would say Waller Mill is worth the extra commute over Magruder. Look at other York County schools too; your commute would be less and they have great schools as well
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u/Privat3Ice 8d ago
I live in the area right round Waller Mill and it's very nice here, despite how busy the Bypass is. Additional benefit is that this area is also zoned to Bruton HS which is the York County arts magnet.
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u/chxfriednightmare 8d ago
I was a military kid 25+ years ago so I can’t give you any current advice.
I went to Bethel Manor (and lived in that base housing— don’t recommend even though it’s completely different now) for one year when we moved to the area. This was the year that the school switched from old-school projectors to the little “eye cam” ones which were SO fancy at the time. I remember a teacher saying that the school was similar to the DOD schools in how they received new tech and resources. Idk how true that is of course.
The only other thing I’d say about Bethel Manor, which seems obvious but is maybe worth mentioning, is that even though it’s off-base, it’s a military vacuum. I hated this as a military brat during the 9/11 era but ymmv.
Waller Mill is an awesome school and I did a high school mentorship there specifically because of the program, but I genuinely don’t think it’s worth the commute despite the other advice you’re being given here. Especially if you end up living anywhere near ft. Eustis, the traffic is awful. I commuted from Tabb to Williamsburg for six years and would take the Colonial Parkway 95% of the time, which isn’t even an option right now as the Parkways been closed. You can supplement other activities and programs in Hampton Roads that will give your children the same education.
The Tabb neighborhood and all of the 23693 zip code are really nice areas and the schools can’t be beat.
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u/saltydancemom 6d ago
My two oldest went Preschool - 5th grade at Magruder and while it seems like a big school it doesn’t feel like it. Waller Mill is also an Arts Magnet school so you can apply to go there after K, but no guarantees that you’ll get in.
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u/Normal_Paramedic9997 6d ago
I think the harder part is when kids are older -- queens lake middle and bruton high are not as desirable schools compared to WJCC.. Now, depends on what activities etc your kids participate in, but overall, I think most folks would pick WJCC over those middle and high schools..
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u/Aggravating-Key-8867 8d ago
York County schools are generally better than Williamsburg schools. Coventry, Tabb, and Grafton-Bethel are probably the 3 best. In Williamsburg the top elementary schools are probably Stonehouse and Matoaka.
But York County is closer to the shipyard and more convenient to a lot of stuff. You get the benefit of the nice things in Newport News and and Hampton being close while still living in suburbia.
That said, Newport News and Hampton actually have the best resources for high achievers. The gifted education programs in those districts are substantially better than York and Williamsburg.
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u/Bubbly_Tradition_490 7d ago
We moved from Midlothian this summer and good schools was my top priority. I have a 4th grader with Autism/ADD/Dyslexia/Dysgraphia and a gifted 1st grader. Magruder has been amazing for us. I was nervous about the transition because our previous elementary school (Swift Creek Elementary) was very good, but from day one the kids came home beaming about how their new school was “Uh-mazing!” Both of the general Ed teachers have been fantastic, the IEP team has been good as well. Good culture. The teachers keep a positive attitude and my kids tell me they’re making lots of new friends. My kids actually like going to school every day. We are currently renting and I work in Williamsburg, so when we buy a house next year I’ll try to stay with Magruder or consider Waller Mill to stay in the York county side. I’ve read good things about the Tabb area schools, but that is too far for us.