Trailblazer Elementary, formerly Venable, 406 14th St. NW: grades K-5, 287 students in fall 2025, framework score 89.18. Office: 434-245-2418.

Last checked Oct. 19, 2026. Sources: Trailblazer Elementary School, Charlottesville City Schools, the Virginia Department of Education’s School Quality Profile and the federal NCES school directory.

Trailblazer Elementary School, formerly Venable Elementary, is a Charlottesville City Schools neighborhood elementary school for kindergarten through fifth grade on 14th Street NW, near the University of Virginia. It is one of six city elementary schools, each with its own attendance zone. Its students are the Eagles.

Who to call

  • Front office: 434-245-2418, trailblazer@charlottesvilleschools.org
  • Registrar (new students): Pauline Hartwell, 434-245-2418
  • Division office: 434-245-2400, 1562 Dairy Road
  • Director of Student Services (enrollment questions): 434-245-2405
  • Buses: the city’s Pupil Transportation Department runs school buses; walk zone questions go to 434-245-2400
Address 406 14th St. NW, Charlottesville, VA 22903
Phone 434-245-2418
Grades Kindergarten to 5
School day 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Website trailblazer.charlottesvilleschools.org
Division Charlottesville City Schools

Principal

Principal Chantel Beverly, according to the school’s website.

Enrollment and teachers

  • State count: 287 students in fall 2025, down from 320 in 2024 and 322 in 2023, in the School Quality Profile. The fall 2025 count covers preschool through fourth grade; the school now serves kindergarten through fifth grade.
  • Federal count: 322 students (then Venable Elementary) in the 2023-24 school year, with 23 full-time-equivalent teachers, according to the NCES directory. That works out to about 14 students per teacher.

State report card

Virginia rates schools two ways. Accreditation checks that a school has the programs, staff and facilities the state requires. The School Performance and Support Framework gives each school a score with a target of 80 points; points are “assigned based on items ranging from test scores to attendance,” and the measures differ by school level, the division explained when the results came out Oct. 7.

  • Accreditation, 2025-26: Fully Accredited
  • Framework score: 89.18, rated Approaching Expectations, in the division summary. The division says a school drops one level when at least one student group is identified as needing targeted support, which is why a school above 80 points can be rated Approaching Expectations.

Standards of Learning pass rates (share of tested students who passed):

Subject 2023-24 2024-25 2025-26
English reading 66% 66% 74%
Math 65% 65% 71%

The full profile also reports attendance and teacher data.

Attendance zone and feeder schools

Find the elementary school for any city address with the city’s GIS viewer: enter the street, click the property and look under “Additional Data,” as the division’s attendance zones page explains. After elementary school, all city students attend Charlottesville Middle School (grades 6-8) and Charlottesville High School (grades 9-12).

Rezoning: the division recently rezoned Westhaven to Trailblazer, its closest school, according to the attendance zones page. Under the division’s rezoning plan, Trailblazer gains more students in August 2029 at the earliest: those living south of U.S. 250 now zoned to Greenbrier (the Rose Hill and Birdwood areas) and those in the Meadows neighborhood (homes west of U.S. 29). The division says the timing depends on new housing construction, and fourth and fifth graders at the time of a change can apply to stay at their current school. Check an address on the rezoning map.

City residents can ask to attend a school outside their zone for child care reasons, a move during the school year or a rezoning, under School Board Policy JC; the annual out-of-zone application is on the zones page. Our neighborhoods guide shows which elementary zone each part of the city is in.

Calendar and bell times

From the division’s 2026-27 calendar:

  • Monday and Tuesday, Nov. 2-3: no school for students (staff days; Nov. 3 is Election Day)
  • Thursday, Nov. 26: Thanksgiving; the full break is marked on the calendar PDF
  • Friday, Dec. 18: second grading period ends
  • Friday, May 28, 2027: last day of school, with an early dismissal

Elementary schools run 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., with doors open at 7:40 a.m. and early dismissal at noon, according to the division’s daily routines page.

School life

The school’s website lists Book Character Day, the Soul Fest, spirit days and an end-of-year field day, plus monthly school-wide morning meetings hosted by a different grade each month. The PTO and volunteers work with the school, and families can sign up for a guided tour.

More on Charlottesville schools

Frequently asked questions

What grades does Trailblazer Elementary School serve?

Kindergarten through fifth grade. Trailblazer is one of six neighborhood elementary schools in Charlottesville City Schools, at 406 14th St. NW.

How is Trailblazer Elementary School rated by the state?

It is fully accredited. In the Virginia School Performance and Support Framework results announced Oct. 7, it scored 89.18 and is rated Approaching Expectations.

Which middle school does Trailblazer Elementary School feed into?

Charlottesville Middle School, then Charlottesville High School. All city elementary schools feed the same middle and high school.

What time does Trailblazer Elementary School start?

City elementary schools run from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., with doors open at 7:40 a.m. Early dismissal is at noon.