Harbor Hope Center to open Sept. 2; first-year operations fully grant-funded, officials say

School Board Chair Kathleen Brown and other members were briefed June 24 on progress toward opening the Harbor Hope Center, a regional recovery school serving multiple Hampton Roads divisions, with officials saying they remain "optimistic the Harbor Hope Center will open its doors on September 2, aligned with Chesapeake's student calendar." Robert Jamieson, executive director for the Office of Student Support Services, delivered the update.

The Harbor Hope Center is intended to let students receive recovery services while staying with family and in school, a change officials said would prevent students from leaving the division to attend out-of-area programs. Jamieson told the board that a Virginia Opioid Abatement Authority award of $1,500,000 over five years, combined with matching and settlement funds from Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk and Virginia Beach and additional General Assembly support, brings total secured funds to more than $2.4 million and will cover operating costs for the 2025–26 school year.

"This first year the program is fully funded," Jamieson said. "So the only thing a division would have to pay is for the transportation cost of any students that attend." He said a shared funding formula will…