Newport News celebrates groundbreaking of new Huntington Middle School

NEWPORT NEWS — Marva Sellers Alexander would not have missed Thursday morning’s event for anything. She, along with school and city officials, students and members of the Southeast community, celebrated the groundbreaking of the new Huntington Middle School, which will open in two years.

Alexander was a student at the high school when it served Black students during segregation. She later taught there when it became a middle school, and her children and grandchildren attended. Alexander attributes her success to Huntington’s loving teachers. A strong school and a strong school spirit mean a lot to a community, she said.

“Pride, dedication, family.”

Superintendent Michele Mitchell — who was a principal at the school and whose father attended Huntington —  said a strong sense of school pride is “everything” for a community, bringing people together to help all children flourish.

“In this community, to be able to say you are a Viking that means something,” Mitchell said. She is confident the new school will continue the legacy.

The original Huntington opened as a first-of-its-kind for Black students in 1920, with two teachers and 92 students. In 1936, it was relocated to 35th Street and Orcutt Avenue and closed in 2018. The site went through expansions and transformations, becoming an intermediate school after desegregation in 1971 and then a middle school in 1981.

Demolition began last year, though the facade is being preserved to be used as part of the planned Southeast Community Resource Area.

Clad in Huntington gear, Dwight Guy, a 1967 alumni of Huntington High School, rests his hand on the shoulder of classmate Rev. James Brown, a 1968 alumni, during a groundbreaking ceremony for the new Huntington Middle School in Newport News on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. (Kendall Warner / The Virginian-Pilot)

The new $77 million school will be located a few blocks south at 28th Street. The multistory building will house 600 students and focus on science, technology, engineering, art and math — or STEAM. It will feature open, collaborative spaces, learning studios and specially designed science labs.

Planning was, at times, contentious as some community members fought to keep the new school at its old site. But on Thursday, even some who had originally opposed the move came to celebrate the new chapter.

School Board Vice Chair Terri Best, who attended Huntington in the ’70s, had initially pushed to keep the school at the old site. But she is now excited about the new location.

“This new school will be more than just classrooms,” Best said. “It will be a place where ideas flourish, dreams take shape and futures are built. It will also be a place for reflection, for remembering the rich Huntington legacy.”

Huntington students are currently housed at the Heritage High School campus.

The school is expected to be open for the 2026-27 school year. Mayor Phillip Jones said it will serve as the “anchor” to the new Southeast Community Resource Area, which will include a library and recreation center.

Nour Habib, nour.habib@virginiamedia.com