Virginia Beach schools report rising early childhood referrals, plan modest pre-K expansion

Virginia Beach City Public Schools officials outlined growth in early childhood referrals and described how the division funds and places prekindergarten students during an administrative workshop in February 2025.

The presentation, led by Dr. Myers Daub, executive director of the Office of Programs for Exceptional Children, and Laura Silverman, director of Title I programs, showed the preschool assessment center has seen a rising number of referrals over the past three school years and detailed how the division identifies and enrolls children in pre-K and early childhood special education programs.

Dr. Myers Daub said federal special-education rules shape the division's work: “Under part c of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, children with disabilities begin receiving services as infants and toddlers through the Infant and Toddler Connection of Virginia early intervention system.” She explained local staff receive notifications from Part C providers before a child turns 3 and “the school division then must complete the eligibility process and have an IEP in place prior to the third birthday or start of the school year.” Daub also noted the division reports this transition as Indicator 12 in its special education performance data.

Laura Silverman described the preschool assessment and pre-K program. She said the division uses an arena assessment approach and, in some cases, a diagnostic classroom at FACE to gather observation-based data. Silverman summarized referral and eligibility trends the presentation displayed: referrals increased 10% from 2021–22 to 2022–23 and 34% from 2022–23 to 2023–24; among students evaluated, the number found eligible rose 3% between 2021–22 and 2022–23 and then decreased 15% from 2022–23 to 2023–24. Silverman told the board the assessment team reviewed 1,011 referrals in the most recent year, “the team suspected 673 of those students may have a disability and move forward with evaluations. And of that 673, 508 were found eligible.”

On placements, Silverman said the division was serving 556 children in the early childhood special education setting as of Jan. 15 and had increased to 577 as of Feb. 1. She added that Indicator 6 (the percent of children with disabilities served in regular early childhood programs) is reported to the state as part of performance monitoring.

Silverman described the pre-K program as a full-day offering for children who are 4 on or before Sept. 30 and said VBCPS uses braided funding—state VPI (Virginia Preschool Initiative) funds, a local budget match, and Title I funds—to run the program. She gave current and planned slot counts: since 2016–17 the division has added about 250 pre-K slots, currently enrolls 954 students in 53 classrooms across 30 schools, and is “planning to increase our program to 1,008 student slots for the 2025–26 school year.”

On funding, Silverman provided ballpark figures rather than precise percentage breakdowns: “based on this year, the local requirement of our school division was a little bit over 3 and a half million dollars. The state's requirement was a little over $5,000,000 and then the Title I grant dedicated about 1 and a half million dollars.” She said different funding sources pay for different parts of the program (for example, VPI funds are used for teacher and TA salaries and benefits, while Title I funds support enhancements such as classroom supplies, field trips and summer programming).

Silverman reviewed the family application and placement process: Phase 1 is an online application; Phase 2 verifies documentation in a virtual or in-person meeting; placements and waitlist notifications are sent by early summer. On waitlists, she said the division typically does not give families their numeric position but will notify them when they are first on the waiting list and when a slot becomes available.

Board members asked for clarifications. School Board Member Melnick asked how many applicants are found ineligible; Silverman said the number “changes every year” and the division maintains a running waiting list. School Board Member Rogers asked about funding shares; Silverman reiterated the three funding streams and the dollar amounts she had stated. Dr. Green confirmed preschool assessment tracking remains part of child-find reporting to the Virginia Department of Education.

Why it matters: The increase in referrals and the ongoing waiting list underscore local demand for pre-K and early intervention services while braided funding ties program capacity to state, local and federal grant allocations. The division's planned incremental expansion to 1,008 slots for 2025–26 and the description of assessment and placement processes are immediate operational details families and staff use for planning.

The division provided contact and family-engagement supports (applications by phone for families without internet access, family focus events, classroom-in-action visits, a reading bus and summer Ready Set Kindergarten pilots) and said it will expand Ready Set Kindergarten in summer 2025.

The presentation did not propose a new board policy or an immediate budget action during the workshop; board members asked for follow-up information on waitlist counts, fund sources, and outcome studies comparing one-to-one device usage in early grades to academic measures.