William E. Waters Middle

Summary:

William E. Waters Middle is a public middle school in Portsmouth, Virginia, serving 534 students in grades 7-8. The school is part of the Portsmouth City Public Schools district, which is ranked 115 out of 130 districts in Virginia and has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

William E. Waters Middle faces significant academic and demographic challenges. The school has a much higher percentage of African American students (70.6%) compared to the surrounding schools and the state average. Additionally, the school has an extremely high percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch, ranging from 95.26% to 98.88% over the past few years, indicating a high level of economic disadvantage. Academically, the school consistently ranks in the bottom quartile of Virginia middle schools, with a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger for most years. The school's performance on SOL (Standards of Learning) tests is significantly lower than the district and state averages across various subjects and grade levels.

Despite being located in the same district, William E. Waters Middle is surrounded by several higher-performing middle schools, such as Churchland Middle and Cradock Middle, which have better academic outcomes and higher SchoolDigger ratings. The school's challenges do not seem to be solely related to staffing or class sizes, as the student-teacher ratio has remained relatively low. However, the increased funding over the years has not translated into improved academic performance, suggesting the need for targeted interventions and support to address the underlying factors contributing to the school's struggles.


Detail:

Public 7-8

 600 Roosevelt Blvd
       Portsmouth, VA  23701-4021


(757) 558-2813

District: Portsmouth City Public Schools

SchoolDigger Rank:
351st of 417 Virginia Middle Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures:  $10,352 Help


Students who attend William E. Waters Middle usually attend:

High:    Manor High

Feeder schools for William E. Waters Middle:

Elementary:    Hodges Manor Elementary
    Lakeview Elementary
    Simonsdale Elementary
    Westhaven Elementary

Student/teacher ratio:  12.4 Help
Number of students:  562

Racial breakdown:

African American:
68.1%
White:
21.5%
Two or more races:
5.2%
more

Free/discounted lunch recipients:  100.5% Help


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Performance Trends
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Compare Details William E. Waters Middle ranks worse than 84.2% of middle schools in Virginia. It also ranks first among 3 ranked middle schools in the Portsmouth City Public Schools District! (See more...)
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Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 21.58. (See more...)
Help
Chronic absenteeism in a school refers to a situation where students repeatedly miss school, with the threshold often defined as missing 10% or more of school days for any reason, excused or unexcused.
Student Body
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Compare Details Racial makeup is: African American (68.1%), White (21.5%), two or more races (5.2%). (See more...)
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Compare Details 100.5% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)
Teachers
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Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at William E. Waters Middle is 12.4, which is the lowest among 3 middle schools in the Portsmouth City Public Schools District! (See more...)
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Compare William E. Waters Middle employs 45 full-time teachers.
Finance
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Compare Details The average total spent per student at William E. Waters Middle is $10,352, which is the highest among 3 middle schools in the Portsmouth City Public Schools District!
Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

William E. Waters Middle:

SchoolDigger ranks William E. Waters Middle 351st of 417 Virginia public middle schools. (See William E. Waters Middle in the ranking list.)

Middle School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:


Multi-racial students:
Low Socio Economic Status students:
Female students:
Disabled students:
Male students:
African American students:
White students:


Portsmouth City Public Schools:

SchoolDigger ranks Portsmouth City Public Schools 115th of 130 Virginia school districts. (See district ranking list.)


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Rank History for William E. Waters Middle

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Compare

Rank History for all students at William E. Waters Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools VA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2005 14.99 331st 340 2.6%
2006 23.49 351st 383 8.4%
2007 38.97 283rd 387 26.9%
2008 39.05 271st 391 30.7%
2009 34.18 296th 390 24.1%
2010 22.91 368th 408 9.8%
2011 35.21 315th 413 23.7%
2012 24.17 363rd 413 12.1%
2013 27.07 334th 416 19.7%
2014 33.23 295th 416 29.1%
2015 18.63 362nd 412 12.1%
2016 10.63 382nd 409 6.6%
2017 8.97 393rd 415 5.3%
2018 9.98 398th 413 3.6%
2019 24.38 356th 424 16.0%
2021 46.70 211th 419 49.6%
2022 17.14 365th 415 12.0%
2023 17.12 376th 422 10.9%
2024 21.58 351st 417 15.8%
See the entire list of Virginia Middle School Rankings!

Rank History for Multi-racial students at William E. Waters Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools VA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2024 50.37 117th 237 50.6%
See the entire list of Best Virginia Middle Schools for Multi-racial Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at William E. Waters Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools VA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2024 29.24 306th 402 23.9%
See the entire list of Best Virginia Middle Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Female students at William E. Waters Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools VA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2023 17.61 365th 411 11.2%
2024 19.30 355th 407 12.8%
See the entire list of Best Virginia Middle Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Disabled students at William E. Waters Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools VA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2023 22.04 226th 278 18.7%
2024 16.62 245th 281 12.8%
See the entire list of Best Virginia Middle Schools for Disabled Students!

Rank History for Male students at William E. Waters Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools VA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2023 16.34 364th 409 11.0%
2024 22.24 346th 407 15.0%
See the entire list of Best Virginia Middle Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for African American students at William E. Waters Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools VA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2023 29.05 228th 298 23.5%
2024 30.08 223rd 299 25.4%
See the entire list of Best Virginia Middle Schools for African American Students!

Rank History for White students at William E. Waters Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools VA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2023 10.86 386th 402 4.0%
2024 22.65 345th 396 12.9%
See the entire list of Best Virginia Middle Schools for White Students!

Data source: test scores: Virginia Department of Education, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

As you review the school rankings data, please be aware that some of the information from certain demographics is missing. The reason for this omission is that the data has been redacted from the source data itself due to low population samples in these specific demographic groups.

Redacting data from low population samples is a necessary step to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the results, as small sample sizes may not be representative of the broader population. Additionally, this measure helps protect the privacy of individuals belonging to these demographic groups.

William E. Waters Middle Test Scores
Tests: 
  
Grades: 
  
Years: 
  
Group by: 
District Scores:
State Scores:    
  
Subgroup: 




Data source: Virginia Department of Education

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Enrollment information for William E. Waters Middle

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Year White African American Asian Hispanic American Indian Pacific Islander Two or More Races Not Specified Total
1989 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 606 606
1990 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 603 603
1991 0 0 0 0 0 n/a n/a 609 609
1992 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 625 625
1993 266 573 0 2 0 n/a n/a 0 841
1994 263 633 0 0 0 n/a n/a 0 896
1995 170 594 0 3 0 n/a n/a 0 767
1996 170 594 0 3 0 n/a n/a 0 767
1997 190 561 0 6 0 n/a n/a 0 757
1998 222 534 5 1 0 n/a n/a 0 762
1999 231 529 2 7 1 n/a n/a 0 770
2000 220 512 2 5 0 n/a n/a -4 735
2001 191 571 5 2 0 n/a n/a 0 769
2002 170 590 10 7 0 n/a n/a 0 777
2003 170 590 10 7 0 n/a n/a 0 777
2004 172 557 4 6 0 n/a n/a 0 739
2005 164 548 3 6 0 n/a n/a 0 721
2006 186 476 3 6 0 n/a n/a 0 671
2007 181 413 5 5 0 n/a n/a 0 604
2008 170 382 3 10 2 n/a n/a 0 567
2009 170 406 3 11 2 n/a n/a 0 592
2010 170 359 2 10 1 n/a n/a 1 543
2011 150 347 5 15 0 0 30 0 547
2012 177 368 2 19 2 0 31 0 599
2013 187 369 3 18 1 1 21 0 600
2014 165 382 1 19 2 1 25 0 595
2015 166 383 3 23 2 1 24 0 602
2016 156 390 4 18 1 2 29 0 600
2017 148 376 5 13 0 3 27 0 572
2018 125 385 2 11 0 0 20 0 543
2019 135 384 1 16 0 1 23 0 560
2020 131 373 2 18 1 1 19 0 545
2021 130 355 4 16 1 2 15 0 523
2022 136 395 5 12 3 1 18 0 570
2023 117 377 3 16 2 2 17 0 534
2024 121 383 3 22 2 2 29 0 562

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at William E. Waters Middle

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1989 606 40.5 14.9 n/a
1990 603 41.3 14.6 n/a
1991 609 43.3 14.0 n/a
1992 625 44.1 14.1 n/a
1993 841 48.9 17.2 n/a
1994 896 46.8 n/a 33.7
1995 767 n/a 0.0 38.2
1996 767 n/a 0.0 38.2
1997 757 n/a 0.0 42.9
1998 762 n/a 0.0 39
1999 770 54.5 14.1 52.2
2000 735 n/a 0.0 46.3
2001 769 54.0 14.2 55.9
2002 777 58.0 13.4 58.2
2003 777 58.0 13.4 58.2
2004 739 53.0 13.9 59.4
2005 721 53.0 13.6 57.6
2006 671 59.0 11.4 56.5
2007 604 58.0 10.4 49
2008 567 39.0 14.5 50.6
2009 592 39.0 15.2 53.2
2010 543 36.0 15.0 59.2
2011 547 32.0 17.0 61.1
2012 599 39.0 15.3 71.8
2013 600 41.2 14.5 62
2014 595 41.8 14.2 64
2015 602 41.0 14.6 65.9
2016 600 44.0 13.6 99.5
2017 572 43.4 13.1 99.5
2018 543 40.4 13.4 99.4
2019 560 42.9 13.0 99.5
2020 545 44.0 12.3 99.4
2021 523 46.4 11.2 n/a
2022 570 45.6 12.4 95.3
2023 534 43.0 12.4 98.9
2024 562 45.0 12.4 100.5

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio William E. Waters Middle

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1989 606 40.5 14.9 n/a
1990 603 41.3 14.6 n/a
1991 609 43.3 14.0 n/a
1992 625 44.1 14.1 n/a
1993 841 48.9 17.2 n/a
1994 896 46.8 n/a 33.7
1995 767 n/a 0.0 38.2
1996 767 n/a 0.0 38.2
1997 757 n/a 0.0 42.9
1998 762 n/a 0.0 39
1999 770 54.5 14.1 52.2
2000 735 n/a 0.0 46.3
2001 769 54.0 14.2 55.9
2002 777 58.0 13.4 58.2
2003 777 58.0 13.4 58.2
2004 739 53.0 13.9 59.4
2005 721 53.0 13.6 57.6
2006 671 59.0 11.4 56.5
2007 604 58.0 10.4 49
2008 567 39.0 14.5 50.6
2009 592 39.0 15.2 53.2
2010 543 36.0 15.0 59.2
2011 547 32.0 17.0 61.1
2012 599 39.0 15.3 71.8
2013 600 41.2 14.5 62
2014 595 41.8 14.2 64
2015 602 41.0 14.6 65.9
2016 600 44.0 13.6 99.5
2017 572 43.4 13.1 99.5
2018 543 40.4 13.4 99.4
2019 560 42.9 13.0 99.5
2020 545 44.0 12.3 99.4
2021 523 46.4 11.2 n/a
2022 570 45.6 12.4 95.3
2023 534 43.0 12.4 98.9
2024 562 45.0 12.4 100.5

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.
Finances

Per Pupil Expenditures for William E. Waters Middle

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YearExpenditures from Federal FundsExpenditures from State and Local FundsTotal Expenditures Per Pupil (All Funds)
2019 $294 (3.2%) $8,787 (96.8%) $9,081
2020 $380 (4.0%) $9,064 (96.0%) $9,444
2021 $390 (3.8%) $9,962 (96.2%) $10,352

Data source: Virginia Department of Education
Pre and Post Pandemic Data

Impact of COVID-19 on William E. Waters Middle

The coronavirus has had a profound impact on education in America. Learning shifted online overnight, attendance numbers dwindled, and enrollment decreased. SchoolDigger.com is making it easier for you to better assess how COVID-19 has impacted your school. Through the collection of pre-pandemic (2019) and current data, SchoolDigger.com is sharing test scores, enrollment numbers and school demographics from schools across the country – and we make it easy to see how impacted schools compare locally and statewide.

Rankings

Rank
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Rank
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Ranks 356th of 424 Middle schoolsRanks 376th of 422 Middle schools
 5.1%

Test Scores

% proficient
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
% proficient
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
7th Grade Mathematics (William E. Waters Middle)3924.8
 14.2%
   7th Grade Mathematics (Portsmouth City Public Schools)4523.8
 21.3%
   7th Grade Mathematics (Virginia)7851.4
 26.6%
7th Grade English Reading (William E. Waters Middle)7154
 17%
   7th Grade English Reading (Portsmouth City Public Schools)7156.3
 14.7%
   7th Grade English Reading (Virginia)7970.3
 8.7%
8th Grade Writing (William E. Waters Middle)5425.9
 28.1%
   8th Grade Writing (Portsmouth City Public Schools)4633.1
 12.9%
   8th Grade Writing (Virginia)7055.5
 14.5%
8th Grade Mathematics (William E. Waters Middle)6433.5
 30.5%
   8th Grade Mathematics (Portsmouth City Public Schools)6230.1
 31.9%
   8th Grade Mathematics (Virginia)7748.4
 28.6%
8th Grade Science (William E. Waters Middle)7248.4
 23.6%
   8th Grade Science (Portsmouth City Public Schools)6644.1
 21.9%
   8th Grade Science (Virginia)7860.7
 17.3%
8th Grade English Reading (William E. Waters Middle)6552.5
 12.5%
   8th Grade English Reading (Portsmouth City Public Schools)6258.1
 3.9%
   8th Grade English Reading (Virginia)7670.7
 5.3%
End of Course Geometry (William E. Waters Middle)9873
 25%
   End of Course Geometry (Portsmouth City Public Schools)8663
 23%
   End of Course Geometry (Virginia)8380
 3%
End of Course Algebra I (William E. Waters Middle)9489
 5%
   End of Course Algebra I (Portsmouth City Public Schools)9379
 14%
   End of Course Algebra I (Virginia)8680
 6%

Student Body

Number of students
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Number of students
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Total Students560534
 4.6%
African American384377
 1.8%
American Indian02
Asian13
 200%
Hispanic1616
Pacific Islander12
 100%
White135117
 13.3%
Two or More Races2317
 26.1%
% Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients99.5%98.9%
 0.6%


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Frequently Asked Questions about William E. Waters Middle

William E. Waters Middle ranks in the bottom 15.8% of Virginia middle schools.

Students at William E. Waters Middle are 68% African American, 22% White, 5% Two or more races, 4% Hispanic.

Students who attend William E. Waters Middle usually go on to attend Manor High

In the 2023-24 school year, 562 students attended William E. Waters Middle.


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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Virginia Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.





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