HRETA Member School Divisions
WHRO has a unique ownership model. We are the only public media station nationwide to be owned by a consortium of local public school divisions.
In 1961, Norfolk and Hampton Public Schools established WHRO-TV for delivery of instruction to classrooms. Over the years, this instructional programming expanded to several other school divisions in the region. In 1968, the participating school divisions formally incorporated to create the Hampton Roads Educational Telecommunications Association (HRETA), which governs WHRO.
The 1980s marked the beginning of what has now become known as the digital age and HRETA responded to the area school systems’ interests in the educational application of computers. In 1984, The Consortium for Interactive Instruction was formed with representatives from each HRETA school division to manage regional collaborative developments.
Today, HRETA comprises 21 school divisions in the Hampton Roads area. Our current owner members include:
Accomack County Public Schools
Chesapeake Public Schools
Franklin City Public Schools
Gloucester County Public Schools
Hampton City Schools
Isle of Wight County Schools
Mathews County Public Schools
Middlesex County Public Schools
Newport News Public Schools
Norfolk Public Schools
Northampton County Public Schools