Roanoke City Public Schools tackle teacher shortage
ROANOKE, Va. (WFXR) — The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says 300,000 teachers left their profession between 2020 and 2022 and 90% of school districts had to adapt to deal with the fallout.
Roanoke City Public Schools began September 2023 with nine teacher vacancies, an improvement Superintendent Dr. Verletta White attributes to changes the district made.
She says exit interviews from staff showed a need for better pay, more support, and a voice at the table.
The schools raised salaries by 14% in recent years, added more instructional assistance in the classroom, focused on hiring more diverse staff to avoid anyone feeling isolated in the district, and created a Teachers Advisory Council to get educators’ two cents in administration.
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RCPS also hopes that investing in future teachers now, will get educators in their classrooms later. Teachers for Tomorrow gives high school seniors hands-on experience in teaching.
“This is our ‘grow our own’ program,” Dr. White explained
William Fleming High School special education teacher Kenai Hunt is a product of RCPS and the Teachers for Tomorrow program. She says there are two other teachers in the district who returned to the Star City.
“I’m also a product of Northwest Roanoke so some of the challenges some of the students go through being raised in that area I also went through being raised in that area,” she said. “I often tell my students they are my grandmother’s neighbors.”
She’s also part of the BONDS program, where teachers receive mentors in the district; her own grade school teacher is helping her settle into her career in education. Hunt says connections like that are what brought her back to Roanoke. She was still studying at Radford University when a member of administration called to ask if she wanted to come back.
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“He was my principal when I was in high school and he asked me if I was ready to interview,” she said. “I was excited people were thinking of me so I wanted to come back and give back to the students in my community.”
“It doesn’t surprise me when our principals and teachers stay in contact with our teachers for tomorrow and college students pursuing education,” said Dr. White. “That’s the kind of care and compassion we have in our teacher workforce.”
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