Across the Bay in Virginia Beach, Virginia Beach City Public Schools (VBCPS) hired 590 new teachers to fill its open positions, but still has openings in technology, education, Spanish immersion, math, and special education. Even in a top performing school district, teacher retention, and filling open positions is still a challenge.
VBCPS lost 188 teachers to retirement after the 2017-2018 school year. Others left voluntarily, and other vacancies occurred due to increased enrollment in some areas. Even as VBCPS offers salaries that are higher than the state’s average, retention and fulfillment is a problem for one of the state’s top school districts.
In Northampton, we struggle with the same issues. But, things are looking better this season.
Superintendent Eddie Lawrence told the Mirror that while we did lose some teachers, the overall trend is generally trending upwards, “By my count twenty-two left. Of these three retired. In addition, two former teachers returned to NCPS. We are hiring twenty-five new teachers due to openings not filled last year or positions not needed due to enrollment fluctuations. So we reduced the number by 1/3 from the previous year.”
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Accessory dwelling legislation needs to be passed quickly. You can’t just hang a rent sign out. Planning and permitting take time.