SUFFOLK, Va. — Suffolk Public Schools is heading into the new school year with all classrooms fully staffed, a significant improvement from the roughly 180 open positions the district faced previously.
Superintendent Dr. John B. Gordon III said the district has worked to reduce vacancies through three pathways to teacher certification: the Associate Teacher Program, I-Teach, and Unlimited Instructors.
"We've been battling this teacher shortage like everybody else has around the country," Gordon said.
"Our associate teacher program, if it's, um, I teach, and now we also have expanded our partnership with what used to be called university instructors is now called unlimited instructors that allows teachers to get certified, pass the practice, etc. so, we think that those three things will help us," Gordon said.
SOL testing is also changing this year, with tests moving to the final two weeks of school and passing scores in some subjects increasing.
For students who struggle academically, Gordon said support begins at the elementary level, well before high school.
"At the elementary level it's really going to be about your reading and math more than anything else, right? And so, we're going to try to do whatever we can to make sure you have those supports," Gordon said.
The district is also sending resources home to families, including links to additional academic support.
Gordon said addressing learning gaps early is critical because SOL performance becomes a graduation requirement in high school.
"In high school, however if you're not passing the S.O.L.'s you can't get the verified credit. A verified credit is passing the class and the test. If you don't do both of those for the ones that they ask you, you can't graduate," Gordon said.
John F. Kennedy Middle School and Kings Fork Middle School are also launching new STEM programs this year, with a focus on robotics, coding and career technical education.
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