Henrico Schools down to 175 teacher vacancies

As Henrico County public schools enter a new school year, teacher vacancies remain a problem, but less of one than a few weeks ago.

The school system is currently 95% staffed, with 175 teacher vacancies countywide. Some of those empty positions are being filled by substitute teachers, while others are being filled by school staff members in non-teaching positions who hold teaching certificates. Some teachers are being paid to cover extra class periods until a permanent teacher is found. All classes will be staffed on Monday's first day of school, Henrico Superintendent Amy Cashwell announced at Thursday's school board meeting.

According to Henrico Schools spokesperson Eileen Cox, 13 school staffers who are qualified to teach but are not teachers will be teaching classes this year throughout the district.

Additionally, four virtual teachers will assist with higher-level math and science classes, according to Cox. Though a teaching assistant will be present, students in these classes will be taught through a screen while in the classroom.

The teacher shortages are more prominent in Henrico’s lowest-income schools.

“It is important to note that schools receiving Title 1 federal funds have lower student-to-teacher ratios, and therefore have more classes and need more teachers.” Cox wrote in an email.

Many of the schools receiving this funding are in Eastern Henrico, where more families live in poverty and more students receive free and reduced lunch. These schools have been hit hardest by teacher vacancies.

* * *

The Henrico school system also has adopted two bus-tracking apps this year, which will show students and parents where school buses are located. Like the GPS tracking system on transportation apps Uber and Lyft, the Edulog Bus Parent Portal and Parent Portal Lite apps will allow parents to follow their students’ buses on their phones. (The Lite version is used only for exceptional education routes.)

Users of the apps cannot follow just any bus, however. In order for parents to see information about their students’ buses, they must have information about their students including date of birth, name, school and student ID. Parents using the app will also receive notifications about changes to the bus route, and notifications when a different bus is being used due to maintenance.

The apps are free for parents, guardians, and students to use and also have a Spanish language option, though no other languages are currently available.

* * *

In Henrico County’s only fully-online public school, hundreds of students will be learning virtually for the second year in a row.

A total of 875 students are enrolled in the Henrico Virtual Academy this year. The K-12 school, which was established last year, provides online instruction for students through a mix of synchronous and asynchronous online classes.

Students may apply to the school “for any reason”, according to the school’s website, and generally are accepted.

Former Elko Middle School assistant principal Garry Marshall is the current principal of the HVA.

Students attending the HVA have online access to many of the services that would be present in a physical school building, such as after-school clubs and counseling services. Student athletes participate in sports in person through their neighborhood zoned school.

The academy has witnessed  a drop in attendance since last school year, when more than 1,300 students were enrolled.

* * *

Anya Sczerzenie is the Henrico Citizen’s education reporter and a Report for America corps member. Make a tax-deductible donation to support her work, and RFA will match it dollar for dollar. Sign up here for her free weekly education newsletter.