HAMPTON ROADS, Va. - Just a few days into the new school year but some districts are still functioning without a full staff.
News 3 investigated whether or not there are teacher vacancies in your child's school district. After receiving reports from all seven cities in Hampton Roads, it is evident that almost every area is affected by open positions.
Here's a breakdown of the numbers by city:
Norfolk: 47
-Khalilah LeGrand, Senior Director of Communications told News 3 they continue to seek and interview candidates for classroom teaching positions, but long-term substitutes have been assigned to fill critical vacancies until the positions can be filled permanently.
-At present, NPS has a 1.73% teacher vacancy rate.
Portsmouth: 40
-Cherise Newsome, spokeswoman for Portsmouth Public Schools, said the shortages are in critical areas like Special Education, Math and Science
-Short-term and long-term subs are being used
Suffolk: 20
-Spokeswoman Bethanne Bradshaw said this is around the same number of vacancies that Suffolk started the school year with last year.
-They are also using qualified long-term substitutes to fill the positions
-Some of the subs are finishing their teaching licenses and will be hired on permanently.
Chesapeake: 19
-Kellie Goral, spokesperson for the schools, said about half these positions are in the Special Education Dept.
-Vacancies at the secondary level are being filled by existing staff who are taking on extra blocks.
-Subs being used for now but the school system is still actively recruiting and hiring qualified candidates.
Newport News: 7
-Spokeswoman Michelle Price said they are at a 99.6% fill rate
-Vacancies are in Special Education, Marketing Technology, Technology Education and Physical Education.
Virginia Beach: 5.4
-Lauren Nolasco, Director of Communications, said the 5.4 positions include full-time and part-time positions
-Using long-term subs but still hiring teachers.
Hampton: 0
-Hampton started their school year at 100% teaching capacity.
