NORFOLK, Va. — Virginia Department of Education leaders rolled out a new social media campaign to combat a severe staffing shortage when it comes to vacancies in the classroom.
It's called, "Become A Teacher," and it aims to boost the number of teachers without going through the traditional degree and licensing process.
When 13News Now asked around, not all Hampton Roads leaders believed it would actually solve the teacher shortage issue.
"I think that we need more teachers, absolutely, but I think that an initiative to get that is not as important as working on the real problem," said Kathleen Slinde, president of Virginia Beach Education Association.
Slinde said instead of attracting new teachers, the real problem starts with addressing why some existing teachers choose to leave.
"There are so many things that are being required of public educators now, and so the workload now is such that it's hard to find a good work life balance," said Slinde.
The "Become A Teacher" campaign with the VDOE includes proposals for military veterans, those with non-teaching degrees and teachers licensed in other states to get permission to teach in Virginia.
Those measures would all add to the number of teachers available in the state.
However, this campaign does not address teacher pay, which Slinde said is a major component of keeping educators in the classroom.
"Because of the pay gap, a lot of teachers are having to also have second jobs just in order to pay their basic bills," said Slinde.
The campaign does list financial incentives that people can apply for, and support for both aspiring and current teachers. It also lists current teacher vacancies that can be found throughout the state.
If you are interested, you can find more information by clicking here.