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Achievable Dream proposes expanding transportation zone to boost enrollment; board to consider in March
Summary
Achievable Dream and Virginia Beach school officials pitched expanding bus zones into specific neighborhoods to add roughly 60 students and meet a minimum enrollment threshold; expansion would increase annual transportation costs by an estimated $130,000 to $150,000 and return to the board for action March 11.
School officials and representatives from the nonprofit Achievable Dream told the School Board of the City of Virginia Beach on Feb. 25 that expanding transportation into targeted neighborhoods could add students to the program, strengthen retention and help the program meet previously agreed enrollment thresholds.
Matt Delaney, chief schools officer for Virginia Beach City Public Schools, and Miss Amasa Andes, chief strategy officer for Achievable Dream, described the organization’s K–12 model and its local history. Achievable Dream began in Newport News in 1992 and added a Virginia Beach presence in 2014; the program operates K–5 at SeaTac Elementary and 6–12 at Lynn Haven Middle/High School.
Dr. Walter Brower, senior executive director of high schools, said the program currently enrolls 671 students (about 69 percent of the district’s per‑grade target). “To meet the 75% threshold, we would need to have 731 students, which would require the addition of 60 total students across grades K through 12,” Brower said.
Presenters told trustees that transportation zones have been a recurring constraint for enrollment. The administration recommended expanding bus eligibility to neighborhoods served by Green Run Elementary, Holland Elementary, Parkway Elementary, Rosemont Elementary, Bayside Middle School and Larkspur Middle School. Families outside those zones could still apply and transport their own students.
Financial and operational details presented to the board included:
- Current annual transportation cost for Achievable Dream (K–12): approximately $620,000.
- Estimated annual cost after expansion: approximately $750,000 (the presenters said the increase could vary depending on routing).
- Achievable Dream corporate offsets: $100 per student under the existing memorandum of understanding; presenters estimated that with a minimum of 975 students the nonprofit’s contribution would be about $97,500, and at 1,170 students it would be about $117,000.
Achievable Dream officials said the program has an extended day and year, scholarship partners and corporate sponsors that provide additional staffing and services. The program’s first Virginia Beach graduating class will be 28 seniors this spring; presenters reported that class is on track to graduate and that the students have already received dozens of college acceptances and scholarship offers.
Trustees asked about recruitment, application numbers and retention data. Dr. Brower and Achievable Dream staff said they have 59 elementary, 124 middle‑school and 21 rising‑ninth‑grade applications for the 2025–26 school year; they also reported past withdrawal reasons including out‑of‑city moves and transportation barriers.
Action status: The item was on the meeting’s information portion. The administration proposed the transportation expansion as an informational recommendation and told the board the item will return for action at the March 11 school board meeting.
Why this matters: Achievable Dream is a public‑private partnership with a written memorandum of understanding with VBCPS. Enrollment and transportation decisions affect operating budgets, access and equity for families across the city.
What’s next: The board will consider a formal action on the transportation‑zone expansion at its March 11 meeting after the information and questions presented on Feb. 25.
