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Human resources reports hiring gains and persistent vacancy areas; marketing push underway
Summary
Virginia Beach City Public Schools reported Aug. 12 that it hired 544 new employees this summer but still had 57 full-time instructional vacancies (31 classroom) as of Aug. 4, and outlined targeted marketing and partnership strategies to recruit in hard-to-staff areas including special education and support roles.
Virginia Beach City Public Schools presented a summer staffing and recruitment update to the school board Aug. 12, reporting substantial hiring this summer alongside continuing vacancies in critical areas and a multi-channel marketing effort to recruit additional staff.
Human Resources Director (presented by Amy Church) and Dr. James Avila, coordinator of recruitment and retention, reported that as of Aug. 4 the division had 57 full-time instructional vacancies, of which 31 were classroom vacancies. The division said 17 of the instructional vacancies were in special education, a critical statewide shortage area identified by the Virginia Department of Education. The presentation also identified 115 non-instructional hard-to-staff vacancies, including school bus assistants, cafeteria assistants and custodians. HR reported 544 new instructional and non-instructional hires during the summer and said hiring continued after the Aug. 4 snapshot.
The HR team outlined recruitment and retention strategies: targeted marketing campaigns ("Share Your Why" storytelling and a veterans/federal-employee outreach campaign), social media and digital advertising, participation in hiring expos and local job fairs, partnerships with local colleges and the Virginia Department of Education'approved alternative licensure programs such as iTeach, and tuition-reimbursement and scholarship pathways for teacher assistants to move into full licensure.
Marketing specialist Kelly Knight shared metrics: Facebook reach of more than 2.6 million accounts and 280,000 profile visits across the 2024'25 school year, Instagram reach of about 245,000 accounts and nearly 90,000 profile visits, LinkedIn more than 14,600 followers, and YouTube video views in excess of 130,000. The HR team said the division runs targeted paid ads on LinkedIn, Indeed, Glassdoor and streaming platforms and has an active "Share Your Why" campaign that spotlights staff.
Board members asked operational questions. One board member noted concern about cafeteria assistant vacancies; HR said central support staff regularly assist in kitchens to ensure service and promised follow-up on specific staffing allocations. In response to questions about the Virginia Teachers for Tomorrow and Future Teacher Award programs, HR said the division hires program completers and is improving a new database to better track and proactively contact candidates during their third year of college to increase conversion to full-time hires. Using exit-data, HR reported at least 18 employees left the division for other school systems last year but said hiring gains increased the division's overall staffing pool.
Board members praised the marketing work and asked for additional conversion and recruitment-source metrics; HR said it would compile and return with more specific data.
