Princess Anne County Training School was the first and only school for African-American Children in Princess Anne County, now known as the City of Virginia Beach. It was the result of the county’s African American parents, communities, teachers, churches and organizations who raised money to purchase property to build a school for their children.

A four room building was constructed in 1938 at the intersection of Cleveland Street and Witchduck Road. Eventually it expanded, adding space for high school. In 1962 the facility was renamed Union-Kempsville High School. The school closed in 1969 after city-wide integration of schools started in Virginia Beach. That also marked the last graduating class.

Margie Coefied is an alumnus of Union-Kempsville, class of 1962. After her graduation she went off to college and returned to teach in Virginia Beach City Public Schools for 31 years. To this day, she and other UKHS alumni, work to preserve the legacy of that era, by sharing their experiences with today’s students.