NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — "I've been waiting for this moment for a long time, I knew when I got to college that I wanted to teach, to be here is really exciting."
That long wait for Bianca Caccamo, a master's student at William & Mary, is coming to an end sooner than she anticipated.
"As they said 'We have jobs for you if you want it,' shock and surprise went over our faces, I was sitting with three other students and you couldn't wipe the smiles off our faces," said Bianca, that very same smile plastered on.
Caccamo's not alone. Every graduate from the William and Mary school of education has a teaching contract with Newport News Public Schools if they want it. She already accepted the job... as did Ashlyn Whitacre, a master's student at Christopher Newport.
As if William & Mary wasn't local enough, NNPS looked down the street, extending the same offer to all graduating students in Christopher Newport University's own school of education.
The partnership is mutually beneficial. Caccamo and Whitacre get to finish up school without the added stress of finding a job, while the school system continues to work towards solving the problem at plagues primary education throughout the country.
"Across the state, and nation, we have what we call crucial shortage, less teachers in areas of need," says coordinator of training and development for Newport News Public Schools.
One of the main areas of need in Newport News, elementary education.
Their two newest educators, Caccamo and Whitacre, both majored in public education.
Sometimes the problem just needs a little teamwork.