PETERSBURG, Va. — Several school districts in Central Virginia and the Tri-Cities are reporting dozens of open teaching positions days ahead of the first day of school.
Petersburg Schools Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Dr. Shamica Long-Lane said her administration has traveled the country to recruit the best employees for the 2025-26 school year.
“The competition is definitely fierce, but that is why we have made so many efforts to try to rebrand ourselves,” she explained. “We have not always had the best reputation. But guess what? That is the past.”
Fully certified teachers are in demand across the country as fewer individuals are entering teacher education programs, she said.
Petersburg Schools has partnerships with James Madison University, Virginia State University, and Virginia Commonwealth University to help grow teacher numbers within the district.
Incentives are also a big factor for school divisions competing for the same employees.
“We have one specific bonus for $7,500 that we're giving for teachers who are already fully certified. However, for our comprehensive and targeted support schools, we do have incentives for those individuals as well, up to $5,000,” Dr. Long-Lane said.
Here is a breakdown of teacher vacancies across our area:
Chesterfield County Public Schools: A school spokesperson didn't share specific vacancy figures, but there are 91 job postings currently listed on their website.
“We anticipate having our schools staffed and have noticed a recent increase in applications for hourly positions, but we still have some remaining opportunities; one of these areas is teaching, particularly in special education and math,” the spokesperson said in an email.
Hanover County Public Schools: “We are very pleased to share that we currently have two classroom teacher vacancies that are anticipated to be filled by the start of the school year,” a school spokesperson said. HCPS reported six bus driver vacancies with two candidates in training, four instructional aide vacancies with candidates currently being interviewed, four custodial vacancies, and two school nutrition vacancies. "We have candidates for all positions," they said.
Henrico County Public Schools: As of last month, Henrico Schools reported 161 teacher vacancies, with 96 percent of total positions filled.
The district reported 199 vacancies at the start of the 2024-25 school year.
HCPS stated they are actively recruiting and hiring for various positions, including classroom teachers, bus drivers, custodians, and school nutrition services staff.
“While I don’t have the exact number of bus drivers, I can tell you that we are confident in our staffing level and the division’s ability to eliminate scheduled double bus runs for the 2025-26 school year. Double runs occur when a bus driver must pick up students from more than one route at the same school,” a school spokesperson said in an email.
Louisa County Public Schools: A school spokesperson reported one teacher vacancy out of 449 total budgeted positions that will be filled before the first day of school.
Richmond Public Schools: According to a presentation compiled by RPS Director of Talent Acquisition Monika Haskins, the division is recruiting 89 classroom teachers out of 1,405.5 total positions.
Notably, she highlighted six teacher vacancies at Jones Elementary and eight at Blackwell Elementary, most of which will be filled by long-term substitutes.
Powhatan County Public Schools: A spokesperson shared the division faces one classroom teacher vacancy out of 308 total teachers and 10 bus driver vacancies out of 61 budgeted positions.
Other non-classroom teacher vacancies include a librarian, math coach, reading interventionist, behavior specialist, five instructional assistants, and a gifted coordinator.
Other vacancies comprise an executive assistant to the superintendent/school board clerk, director of facilities, HVAC technician, and transportation mechanic.
Colonial Heights Public Schools: “Colonial Heights Public Schools is fully staffed in regards to teachers and bus drivers,” Superintendent Travis Ridley said in an email.
Petersburg City Public Schools: As of last month, Dr. Long-Lane shared there are 82 school-based open positions, including 44 early childhood/elementary school positions, 16 middle school positions, 16 high school positions, and six school-based administrators.
The district is also actively recruiting for several principal and assistant principal positions.
Prince George County Public Schools: A school spokesperson said thanks to year-long recruitment and retention efforts, PGCPS has less than 10 teaching positions open. All food service and bus driver positions are filled. “This is an excellent position to be in and allows us to offer the best service to our students and families when we reopen in August,” the spokesperson said in an email.
Emails sent to Dinwiddie County Public Schools and Hopewell City Public Schools were not returned.
CBS 6 is committed to sharing community voices on this important topic. Email your thoughts to the CBS 6 Newsroom.
📲: CONNECT WITH US
Blue Sky | Facebook | Instagram | X | Threads | TikTok | YouTube
