Early records reveal some efforts to provide for education: the county set aside land for education, which generated funds to pay Samuel Wallace in 1752 “for schooling two of Thomas Martin’s children and one of Samuel Wooten’s.” The county maintained a free school near the courthouse at Warwicktown until after the Revolutionary War, when the property was sold.

Warwick County lost population in the early nineteenth century, due to exhaustion of the land on which this agrarian community depended. In 1835, the county seat included two dwelling houses, one store — and a population of 21. It did, however, boast a common school. Even in this time, an effort was made to provide for the education of poor children: in 1832, a total of $20 was appropriated.

During the Civil War, the American Missionary Association was very active in this area. In Newport News, two schools were opened with black AMA worker John Oliver as teacher. After the war, the Freedmen’s Bureau tried to continue these schools. Thomas Wright, a free black prior to the war, is generally credited with starting Warwick County’s first school for freedmen’s children on a site in Denbigh.

In July 1870, George M. Peek was appointed as Warwick County’s first Superintendent of Public Schools. At that time the county was divided into three school districts: Newport, Denbigh, and Stanley.

The growth of public schools in neighboring Newport News paralleled the growth of the city following the arrival of Collis Huntington’s railroad and shipyard. In 1880, the Old Dominion Land Company presented sites for two schools and advanced the money to build those schools, which were operated by the city. The Huntington School, opened in 1880, was operated by the Old Dominion Land Company as a free school for the children of shipyard workers for 35 years.

When Newport News incorporated in 1896, it assumed responsibility for two schools on 28th and 22nd Street. The budget in that year, $13,000, funded 25 teachers and provided for 833 students. With no high school, secondary students attended classes in the First National Bank Building at Washington Avenue and 28th Street. High school graduates were few in those early years: one in 1896 and six, all girls, the next year. By 1916, the graduating class grew to sixteen girls and four boys

The public schools grew along with the city. Two new schools, Magruder and Stonewall Jackson, opened in 1902. In 1906, enrollment was up to 1,977 and the school budget exceeded $33,000. Walter Reed high school opened in 1918, but was quickly pressed into temporary service as a hospital during the influenza epidemic.

The county, too, was growing, especially at its northern end; a new high school opened in Denbigh and graduated its first class (of four) in 1917. When Hilton Village was developed, plans called for a new school, which opened on a prime riverfront site in 1919.

In Newport, News, a municipal survey in 1919 documented a city in need of housing, services, and schools. An estimated 1500 - 2000 children in the city were not attending school. The new city government, restructured in 1920, made education a priority, raising teacher salaries and building new schools.

Stonewall Jackson was expanded, and Woodrow Wilson High School was acquired in the annexation of Kecoughtan. A new Booker T. Washington school was built on the site of the old school on Chestnut Avenue.

Between 1916 and 1936, enrollment grew from 3,747 to 7,681, and the cost per pupil rose to $57.31. Newport News boasted one of the finest athletic fields in Virginia with the opening in 1935 of a concrete stadium (with classrooms below) at Newport News High School, built with the aid of a federal grant and bonds. In 1936, the new Huntington High School was built, and the old Huntington was expanded and converted to the P. L. Dunbar grammar school.

Following consolidation of Warwick County and Newport News in 1958, a joint school division developed. The administration building and Todd Stadium opened in the mid 1960s, their location reflecting the general move northward. New schools opened at a furious pace: South Morrison and Reservoir in 1960; Dunbar Erwin and Marshall in 1961; Yates in 1962; Sanford in 1964; Denbigh High School, Saunders and Nelson in 1965; Jenkins in 1966; Newsome Park and Richneck in 1967; and Epes and Warwick High School in 1968.

The historic decision of Brown vs. the Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas meant that the city would have to desegregate schools after decades of operating separate schools for black and white students. The admission of 14 black children to previously all-white elementary schools in 1961 marked the first step. A court-ordered desegregation plan in 1971 required increased busing of students, but permitted first and second graders to remain in neighborhood schools. Under the leadership of superintendent George J. McIntosh and board chairman Jack Dozier and, later, Mary Paulson, desegregation moved forward with community support and little disruption.

Mary Paulson, the first woman appointed to the school board, became the first woman chairman in 1972 after six years of service. The 1970s saw the opening of many new schools: Menchville and B. C. Charles in 1970; Palmer in 1971; Watkins in 1972; Dozier (named for the first president of the combined school board) and Dutrow (named for a former superintendent) in 1974; and McIntosh in 1976. Kindergarten was introduced in 1972. Building continued through the 1980s with Greenwood in 1986 and Gildersleeve in 1989. In 1990, Hines Middle School moved into a new building and the old school was renovated and reopened as Crittenden. The new Kiln Creek development led to a school with that name in 1991.

The 1990s brought another watershed: for the first time, School Board members were elected by the citizens of Newport News. The first elections in 1994 brought to the Board Jananne D. Archibald, Effie C. Ashe, Herbert H. Bateman, Jr., and Mary B. Oder. By 1996, Newport News was served by a fully elected school board.

Dr. Wayne D. Lett, appointed superintendent in 1996, challenged the staff and community to establish Newport News as a “lighthouse district” for its excellence in programming for all children.

On July 1, 2003, The Newport News School Board appointed Dr. Marcus J. Newsome superintendent and charged him with the responsibility of providing leadership for approximately 32,000 students and 5,000 staff members. Dr. Newsome accepted the challenge and outlined a comprehensive framework for school improvement called A Blueprint for Excellence – “Communities Committed to Learning.” It provided a long-range, dynamic process to guide the school division and communities in preparing students for the 21st Century

On May 24, 2007, Dr. Ashby Kilgore was appointed superintendent and motivated the school division to promote smart, safe schools by building a foundation of high expectations, rigorous content, and persistent support for students and teachers. Under her leadership, the school division has published its "Agenda for Public Education in Newport News," which includes measurable benchmarks in Literacy, Math, Teacher Retention, Dropout Prevention & Recovery, and Youth Development.