In May 2023, the School Board of the City of Norfolk designated Booker T. Washington High School as a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) high school. The School Board directed the administration to develop comprehensive curricula and programs within that framework. The board’s resolution states that the framework includes but is not limited to the educational specifications and programming offering enhanced Performance, Visual and Multimedia Arts, A/V (Audio/Visual) and Communications Technology, Cybersecurity, Entrepreneurship and Hospitality commencing in phases beginning in 2024.

Norfolk Public Schools seeks community input as the division administration develops the curricula and programming to support the new STEAM program and the existing Academy for the Visual and Performing Arts.

The board’s resolution builds on and updates its December 2019 resolution, in which the board provided funding and guidance to shape the future of Booker T. Washington High School.

The School Board sought “to ensure that Booker T. Washington High School has a vibrant and competitive Academy that will retain and attract a diverse group of students from across the city.”

Norfolk Public Schools hired HBA Architects to conduct a Feasibility Study. The goal of the study was to review the current instruction programs and the spaces that house them, consider the current and future goals of teaching and learning and the school’s curriculum, and define what spaces and structures are needed to support a modern, comprehensive high school and an innovative Academy of the Arts program. The goal of the study was to create “educational specifications” that responded to future educational changes, potential programmatic growth, and community partnerships, and would serve as a communication and benchmarking tool for all project stakeholders: students, parents, and families; faculty and administrators; civic leaders and community members; and potential project design and construction partners.

A comprehensive study of the school’s academic programs and how they align with the current physical structure has not been conducted since the opening of the existing structure in 1974. In 2018, the School Board voted to maintain the present location and name of Booker T. Washington High School.

December 2019 School Board Phase 1 feasibility study resolution

May 2023 School Board Resolution regarding STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) at Booker T. Washington High School (Item 5.07)

May 17, 2023, School Board meeting with BTWHS resolution and vote at 2:20:20.