My daughter is in kindergarten at Lynnhaven Elementary school. Lynnhaven is a Title One school, so they get funding to have full day kindergarten, which I consider to be a blessing; kids have to learn first grade stuff in kindergarten, and I consider it impossible to teach what they need to know in three hours. My daughter can read, count to 100 by fives and tens, is learning about addition and substraction, is receiving instruction in social studies (they learned about Gambia, of all places, last week), has PE everyday, music on Mondays and computer lab on Fridays. Her teacher has really opened up her brain to learning, something I couldn't do on my own (after all, I'm her mother, what do I know?) Now if only my daughter's self-control would match the age of her vocabulary. . .she's five with the vocabulary of a college student (but wait, college students don't have self control, either!)
Overall, the Virginia Beach Schools are all very good. People who work in other cities move to Virginia Beach so their children will be part of the school system. The teachers at Lynnhaven are all dedicated, creative teachers. As to whether or not the kids appreciate their efforts, well, it's up to the kids to figure that one out.
Hope this helps. I'm pleased with what my daughter is learning and what her teacher is trying to do for her.
By the way, the schools that are considered the best also pull children from the areas with the most expensive houses. John B. Dey is considered great, but the houses in the Great Neck area are outrageous. Same for Christopher Farms, the houses there start at $400,000. So, this just proves that socio-economic status does influence school performance. I don't think the schools I mentioned receive any more money than schools elsewhere in the city, just that the kids seem to be predestined to be better students.
You need to decide how much house you can afford, then try to find a nice one in that bracket. Don't try to pick a house in school district that you want your daughter to attend, you may be priced out. As I said, overall the Virginia Beach school system is very good and tries to do the best for all students.
I live in a nice neighborhood with houses in the $300,000-325,000 range. I couldn't afford to buy into my neighborhood, now. We bought our house almost 20 years ago before real estate went through the roof.