A part-time coach at Warwick High School in Newport News is no longer employed by the school division, after administrators discovered a social media video that appeared to show the employee kissing a student. Newport News police are now investigating the matter.
Warwick High School administrators became aware of the social media post on Thursday, according to WAVY.com, which reported that the post appeared to show a student with an employee. A video obtained by the station's 10 On Your Side team seemingly shows the employee kissing the student, though the outlet said it is unable to release the footage. Once administrators saw the post, they took immediate action in accordance with established policies and procedures and contacted law enforcement, per the same report.
Robert C. White, Newport News Public Schools' executive director of public information, confirmed to the station that the employee is no longer employed with the school division. The Newport News Police Department is investigating the matter, and the district says it is cooperating with law enforcement throughout the process. No further details about the nature or timeline of the investigation have been released.
Why Schools Must Report Immediately
Under Virginia law, the swift response from Warwick administrators was not optional. Code of Virginia § 63.2-1509 mandates that all public school employees, teachers, and athletic coaches immediately report any suspected child abuse, neglect, or improper conduct to local social services or law enforcement, according to Virginia law. Failing to do so can carry civil and criminal penalties for school staff who sit on suspected misconduct involving a minor.
Separately, Virginia criminal statutes establish heightened consequences for adults who hold positions of trust over children. Under Code of Virginia § 18.2-370.1, any person in a custodial or supervisory relationship — including a school employee or athletic coach — who takes indecent liberties with a minor child commits a felony offense, according to Justia Law. It remains unclear whether any charges have been filed in this case.
A School Already Under the Microscope
Warwick High School, established in 1926, is the oldest of Newport News' six high schools and currently enrolls about 1,500 students in grades 9 through 12, according to background compiled on Wikipedia. The campus houses specialized programs including the division's International Baccalaureate track and its Governor's Health Science Academy. It is not the first time law enforcement has become involved with staff at the school — a former assistant principal there was arrested in an unrelated criminal matter in 2022, per the same Wikipedia entry.
The incident also lands amid a period of heightened attention to staff conduct and student safety across the broader district. Newport News Public Schools, which operates 40 facilities serving roughly 25,500 students and employs about 4,300 staff according to its FY 2027 proposed budget, rolled out a security and student wellness overhaul last month, placing licensed mental health workers in schools and enhancing security personnel training. And in September 2025, the division placed a teacher on administrative leave following an investigation into improper social media posts, a case detailed by LiveNOW, underscoring how closely the district has been scrutinizing employee conduct online.
All instructional, coaching, and support staff applicants in the division are required to undergo fingerprint-based criminal history record checks before being hired, a hiring protocol outlined on job listings for the district. It is not known from available information whether the part-time coach in this case underwent additional screening specific to coaching roles, or how the video first came to the school's attention beyond the social media post. WAVY.com says it will provide updates as the investigation continues.
