Ghent School, 200 Shirley Ave.: grades K to 8, 489 students in fall 2025, state score 94.19 (Distinguished). Office: 757-628-2565.
Last checked Oct. 20, 2026. Sources: Ghent School, Norfolk Public Schools, the Virginia Department of Education’s School Quality Profile, the federal NCES school directory and the division’s 2026-27 boundary maps.
Ghent School serves kindergarten through eighth grade at 200 Shirley Ave. for Norfolk Public Schools (NPS). It had 489 students in fall 2025, the state’s count shows.
Who to call
- Front office: 757-628-2565
- Registering a new student: the school office, or the division’s student registration page
- Which school is my address zoned for? the division’s Find My School map
- Buses: transportation field supervisor Larry A. Butler Sr., 757-892-3320, ext. 121
- Division main line: 757-628-3830
| Address | 200 Shirley Ave., Norfolk, VA 23517 |
| Phone | 757-628-2565 |
| Grades | K to 8 |
| Student hours | 8:15 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. |
| Office hours | 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. |
| Website | gs.npsk12.com |
| Division | Norfolk Public Schools |
Principal
Principal Jennifer Banks, according to the school’s website.
Enrollment and teachers
- State count: 489 students in fall 2025, compared with 501 in fall 2024 and 501 in fall 2023, according to the School Quality Profile.
- Federal count: 501 students in the 2023-24 school year, with 40 full-time-equivalent teachers, according to the NCES directory. That works out to about 13 students per teacher.
State report card
Virginia rates schools two ways. Accreditation shows whether a school meets the state’s Standards of Accreditation; a fully accredited school “submitted all required evidence to the Department of Education as prescribed in the Standards of Accreditation,” the profile says. The School Performance and Support Framework gives each school a score and one of four performance levels: Distinguished, Meets Expectations, Approaching Expectations or Needs Intensive Support.
- Accreditation: Fully Accredited for 2025-26.
- Framework score: 94.19, performance level Distinguished, in the state’s division summary.
Standards of Learning pass rates (share of tested students who passed):
| Subject | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | 2025-26 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | 85% | 80% | 82% |
| Math | 77% | 74% | 81% |
| Science | 90% | 86% | 86% |
| History and social science | 94% | 87% | 86% |
The full profile also reports attendance, student groups, teacher data and spending.
Attendance zone and feeder schools
Ghent School has no attendance zone: it draws students from across Norfolk who apply. Your child’s zoned schools come from the division’s Find My School lookup.
The consolidation plan had Ghent moving to the Rosemont building in 2027. On Oct. 15, the division announced that Ghent School is no longer part of Phase II for 2027-28, and it held a community meeting at the school Oct. 19. Our schools guide follows the consolidation plan.
Calendar and bell times
From the division’s 2026-27 academic calendar (PDF):
- Tuesday, Nov. 3: teacher workday, no school for students
- Wednesday, Nov. 11: Veterans Day, schools closed
- Nov. 25-27: Thanksgiving holiday, schools closed
- Dec. 21 to Jan. 1: winter break
- Monday, Jan. 18: Martin Luther King Jr. Day, schools closed
- March 29 to April 2, 2027: spring break
- Friday, June 4, 2027: last day of school, early release
Students attend from 8:15 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. and the office is open 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., according to the division’s school hours page. On a two-hour delay, school starts at 10:15 a.m.
Programs
Ghent School is a citywide K-8 school listed among the division’s specialty programs; it has no attendance zone. Families apply through the division’s “Elementary School Lottery and Specialty Programs” form on that page. Applications for the following school year open in October, with acceptance letters mailed in the spring.
More on Norfolk schools
- The school’s website and its state School Quality Profile
- Every public school in Norfolk
- Our Norfolk schools guide for the full calendar, registration and School Board meetings
- Our neighborhoods guide
Frequently asked questions
What grades does Ghent School serve?
Kindergarten through eighth grade. It is part of Norfolk Public Schools and had 489 students in fall 2025, the state’s count shows.
How is Ghent School rated by the state?
On Virginia’s School Performance and Support Framework it scored 94.19 and is rated Distinguished, and it is fully accredited for 2025-26, according to the state’s School Quality Profile.
What time does Ghent School start?
Students attend from 8:15 a.m. to 2:45 p.m., according to the division’s school hours page. A two-hour delay moves the start to 10:15 a.m.
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