Chincoteague Elementary School earns highest marks for early childhood program

Pictured: Chincoteague Elementary Pre-K teacher, Ms. Powers and our Pre-K assistant Mrs. Ritchie

Chincoteague Elementary School has earned the highest possible rating in Virginia’s early childhood quality system, placing it among the Commonwealth’s top-performing Pre-K programs for the 2024–2025 school year.

The school received an “Exceeds Expectations” designation in the Virginia Quality Birth to Five (VQB5) system—an evaluation framework used statewide to measure the quality of teacher-child interactions and curriculum implementation across early learning programs. Chincoteague Elementary scored 719 out of a possible 800 points.

According to the report, the school earned 619 points in classroom interactions, based on observations conducted during both the fall and spring using the nationally recognized CLASS® assessment tool. These observations found that teacher-child interactions in Chincoteague Elementary’s Pre-K classrooms consistently exceeded expectations.

The school also earned the full 100 points available for curriculum, reporting the use of the Creative Curriculum for Preschool, 6th Edition, a Virginia Department of Education–approved program designed to support high-quality, developmentally appropriate instruction.