VIRGINIA BEACH — On Nov. 12, 1975, six Virginia Beach principals met at a local restaurant to discuss starting a new Virginia High School League district.
The principals at Bayside, Cox, First Colonial, Kellam, Kempsville and Princess Anne knew Virginia Beach was growing rapidly and that new schools were on the horizon. They felt it was time to leave the Eastern District and start their own district.
Did these principals feel they were taking a chance?
“No,” said Jerry Deviney, who was at that meeting. “In 1975, we knew we had one of the bigger districts in the state. And we needed to do what was best for the Beach District. Plus, we had good leadership.”
And the Beach District was born.
The district grew as it added five more schools with Green Run (1975), Salem (1989), Tallwood (1992), Ocean Lakes (1994) and Landstown (2001).
And today, it’s one of the strongest districts in the state.
The growth of the Beach District.
To commemorate the Beach District’s 50 years, 101 current and former living high school principals and student activities coordinators were invited to Kellam High for the reunion.
They gathered to share stories and celebrate its humble beginnings.
They also took a trip down memory lane.
Did you know cross country meets were once held at Mount Trashmore?
Or that indoor track meets were run in the hallways of the host school — two lanes wide.
“If you wanted to see a race, you had to stand at a hallway intersection and peer around the corner to get a glimpse,” said former Cox High student activities director David Rhodes, who is now the Coordinator of Student Activities for Virginia Beach City Public Schools. “An indoor track was painted on the gym floors at Cox and Green Run when those schools were built — one quarter the size of the outdoor track. Runners had to make 16 laps to run a mile and 32 for the two-mile race.”
The Beach District has arguably become one of the top districts in the state, and one that other districts around the state look to when it makes major decisions.
What makes the district different from than any other in the state is it consists solely of schools from one school division — Virginia Beach.
Ocean Lakes players hoist the championship trophy after defeating Cox 2-1 with a walk-off in the ninth inning in the Class 5 State Championship at Deep Run High School in Short Pump, Virginia, on June 14, 2025. (Billy Schuerman / The Virginian-Pilot)
The Beach District also has been competitive.
“Beach District teams have produced approximately 300 team state championships over the last 50 years,” said Dr. Donald Robertson, a former coach and principal in the Beach District and now the superintendent of Virginia Beach City Public Schools. “Thousands of individual state champions. Thousands of team regional champions and individual region champions. That’s a resounding testament to the quality of our coaches and students who compete on the field or on the stage.”
Gary Ponton remembers the early days. He was the athletic director at Green Run High from 1985-2005.
“I saw a great difference in those years,” he said. “We went from being the largest high school in the state of Virginia, in grades 10, 11 and 12, and had 3,600 students. We were a powerhouse in just about anything that we competed in.”
But the run ended when more schools were added.
“As more and more high schools opened, more and more of our territory was being invaded, and our attendance zone was going elsewhere, and a lot of our talent,” he said. “Toward the end, that was a little rough going from being on the top to being on the bottom.”
Jessica Bowman has been the athletic director at Cox High since 2013.
“When I heard the district was 50 years old, I was kind of shocked by that because I’m a Salem grad, and then I went to Old Dominion, so my whole time has been local,” she said. “The Beach District just seemed older.”
Bowman is most proud of how other districts look up to the Beach District.
“I don’t want to sound elitist or sound top tier,” she said, “but I think we do it right.”
The Beach District has been out front when it came to increasing the number of sports, especially for girls.
In the 1980s, there were 13 sports. Now there are 27, 14 for girls and 13 for boys.
“It’s just grown so much with all the sports we have. We now have lacrosse,” said Bowman about the Beach District, which was the first school public school district in Hampton Roads to offer lacrosse as a varsity sport. “I didn’t realize when I was in school that swimming and volleyball were up and coming. I just thought we always did it.”
As she looks to the future, she has one wish she hopes the district will consider.
“I would like the Beach District to have an athletic director and a student activities coordinator,” said Bowman, who added the district does have assistants to help student activities coordinators at each school. “My job as a student activities coordinator is huge. I’m in charge of everything outside the classroom like clubs, sports activities, dances and graduation. I would like to just do athletics and have someone else do the clubs and activities. I would like to see the Beach District go that way.”
As she looked around and saw all of the former and current principals and student activities coordinators gathered together, she felt a sense of pride.
“I just love being a part of this,” she said. “And I’m just fortunate to be a part of it.”
Deviney played a huge role in the development of the Beach District. He spearheaded many initiatives, including the implementation of Title IX, the student activities coordinator position, to name a few. For his contributions, he was inducted in the VHSL Hall of Fame in 2007.
“We did things in a classy way,” he said. “Other districts look at Virginia Beach to provide leadership.”
Another key person in the inception of the Beach District was Emilie Tilley, a former Beach District chairperson. Tilley, who was inducted in the VHSL Hall of Fame in 2011, is widely recognized as a pioneer among women in educational administration.
“She’s always been a passionate advocate for female equality in athletic programs, giving several impactful speeches at VHSL membership and executive committee meetings over the years to keep the good ol’ boys in check,” Rhodes said in his introduction of her. “She once held out on a key executive committee vote to ensure that female athletes were treated fairly.”
The Beach District also was instrumental in other areas.
In the late 1980s, it moved soccer games from the afternoon to under the stadium lights with admission being charged.
In the 1990s, it brought back junior varsity sports, which were eliminated in the 1970.
In 1997, it approved a minimum 2.0 grade-point average to compete.
And in 2011, it started concussion baseline testing on athletes.
Over the years, the Beach District has taken written positions on anti-hazing, anti-bullying, harassment and hate speech, and social media.
Ponton, like many who showed up last week, is proud of what he helped create.
“Yes, it’s very hard to believe it’s been 50 years,” he said. “But I definitely enjoyed it.”
Larry Rubama, 757-575-6449, larry.rubama@pilotonline.com
