VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — School divisions are brainstorming ways to fill teacher shortages across the U.S. Leaders in Virginia Beach City Public Schools said as fast as they fill positions, more vacancies pop up.
Now, school officials are getting creative in getting teachers into the classroom.
Katrina Landon sailed into retirement last June.
“I miss the kids,” Landon said. “You know teenagers -- as crazy as they are -- they keep you young.”
Although she loved the students, Landon said pandemic problems pushed her to end a 28-year career. She spent the last 10 years teaching high school students in Newport News.
“I knew by last spring that this year was going to be insane because with the whole masking, the virus, the whole movement going on in terms of teachers and what they say,” Landon said.
Her teaching experience is something many school divisions are after.
Part-time teachers, tutors, and substitutes are three roles that Virginia Beach City Public Schools leaders hope to see retired teachers step into this school year. Chief Human Resources Officer Cheryl Woodhouse said it’s a new idea her team is chasing to fill classroom gaps.
“We would love to have anywhere between 75 and 100 retirees,” Woodhouse said.
She said they have a lot of positions in math and special education, especially at the middle and high school levels. But they are open to working with retirees.
“What we really want is for our retirees to reach out to us,” Woodhouse said. “So, we can hear what their needs are, and we can match those needs with the division.”
Rodrick Barnes just retired after 29 years of teaching. He’s most interested in mentoring current teachers.
“Experience gives you wisdom and I really do think that these schools need to think of the older teachers more as wisdom,” Barnes said.
Landon agrees and believes she could help schools with retention.
“If school systems, if they want to bring older teachers back in the classroom, let us use our wisdom to help teachers get through these first few years so they stay in teaching,” Landon said.
Virginia Beach School Division leaders said their human resource team comes together twice a week to brainstorm recruitment ideas. They say retirees could also fill many of the part-time positions, virtually.
For more information on open positions, visit the VBCPS website.