Public schools
Schools for Blacksburg homes.
The Montgomery County public schools Blacksburg homes are zoned for. Each page has the zone map, the homes for sale in it and the neighborhoods it covers.
Elementary
Elementary schools.
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Grades K-5
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Grades K-5
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Grades K-5
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Grades PK-5
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Grades PK-5
Middle
Middle schools.
High
High schools.
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Grades 9-12
Map
Where the schools are.
Gilbert Linkous Elementary, Harding Avenue Elementary, Kipps Elementary, Margaret Beeks Elementary, Price's Fork Elementary, Blacksburg Middle and Blacksburg High.
School assignment goes by attendance zone, not distance. Confirm any address on the MCPS attendance zone map or at 540-382-5151. New students register at Enroll at MCPS.
History
A short history of public schools here.
Montgomery County went from one-room schoolhouses to central schools, and from separate schools to integrated ones, in about a century.
Public schooling in Montgomery County grew from scattered one- and two-room schoolhouses in the late 1800s into larger central schools as roads improved. For a century, the Christiansburg Institute, founded in 1866, was where Black students in the region could get a secondary education. It became a county public high school in 1947 and closed in 1966, when the county completed desegregating its schools.
Two Institute buildings are on the National Register of Historic Places: the 1885 Hill School complex on High Street and the 1927 Edgar A. Long Building on Scattergood Drive, near Christiansburg High School.
Timeline
- 1866Capt. Charles S. Schaeffer of the Freedmen's Bureau began classes for Black residents of the Christiansburg area, the start of the Christiansburg Institute.
- 1869Virginia's new constitution created a statewide system of free public schools.
- 1895Booker T. Washington took on supervision of the Christiansburg Institute and broadened its teaching toward industrial and trades training.
- 1900sAs roads improved in the early 1900s, the county shifted from many small community schools to larger, centralized schools.
- 1921Pilot School was built in the Little River area. It held its last class in 1962 and is the county's only surviving early 20th century public school building, according to Virginia's Department of Historic Resources.
- 1927The Edgar A. Long Building, a brick classroom building, was completed on the Christiansburg Institute's farm campus.
- 1947The Christiansburg Institute's property was deeded to the public schools, and it became a public regional high school for Black students.
- 1966The county completed desegregating its schools; the Christiansburg Institute graduated its last class and closed.
- 1979The Old Christiansburg Industrial Institute (Hill School complex) was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, after Virginia Landmarks Register listing in 1978.
- 1995A school board study approved in January 1995 led to four building projects: middle schools in Christiansburg and Blacksburg, an elementary school in Riner and a high school in the Shawsville area.
- 2001The Edgar A. Long Building was listed on the National Register and the Virginia Landmarks Register as the only pre-1950 building still standing on the original farm campus.
- 2023A $35 million renovation and addition project at Belview Elementary, Christiansburg Elementary and Christiansburg Primary was finished in February 2023.
- 2024Pilot School was added to the National Register of Historic Places on February 7, 2024.
Sources
- Old Christiansburg Industrial Institute (154-5004) Virginia Department of Historic Resources, 2024-02-19
- Hill School (Christiansburg Industrial Institute), SAH Archipedia, from Buildings of Virginia Society of Architectural Historians / University of Virginia Press, 2015
- From Revolution to Revolutionary: 250 years of education in Montgomery County Montgomery County, Virginia, 2026-06-25
- Old Christiansburg Industrial Institute, NRHP nomination Virginia Department of Historic Resources, 1979
- Pilot School (060-0008) Virginia Department of Historic Resources, updated 2024-02-14
- Christiansburg Institute (Civil War driving tour) Virginia Tech Center for Civil War Studies
- Edgar A. Long Building (154-5008) Virginia Department of Historic Resources, 2024-01-31
- Town History Town of Christiansburg
- Christiansburg Industrial Institute Historical Marker (K-68) Historical Marker Database
- Montgomery County OKs Riner school The Roanoke Times (Virginia Tech digital archive), 1995-08-02
- Christiansburg Elementary School (three-school project portfolio page) 5 Design Architecture
FAQ
Questions? Answers.
What public schools serve Blacksburg, VA?
Montgomery County Public Schools runs the public schools here. Blacksburg homes are zoned for Gilbert Linkous Elementary, Harding Avenue Elementary, Kipps Elementary, Margaret Beeks Elementary, Price's Fork Elementary, Blacksburg Middle and Blacksburg High, depending on the address.
How do I find the school for a Blacksburg address?
Every listing and neighborhood page on this site shows the schools from the official attendance zones. Confirm a specific address on the MCPS attendance zone map or by calling 540-382-5151.
How do I enroll a new student?
Register online through Enroll at MCPS, then bring the child's birth certificate, two proofs of address and a photo ID for the parent to the school.