Duval schools superintendent reverses course to help fill 100+ teacher vacancies

There are nearly 200 teacher and support staff vacancies in Duval County schools right now.

Those vacancies include 102 classroom teachers and 79 support staff positions, including classroom aides.

“We’re kind of at a real turning point here,” said Duval Teachers United President Terrie Brady.

Brady said the problem is supply and demand. There just aren’t enough young people who want to become teachers to replace all the teachers who are retiring.

That’s why Duval County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Nikolai Vitti said he’s willing to reverse course on a strategy he’s pushed for the past three years.

“Our vacancy challenge was not as great as it is now,” said Vitti.

The district recently hired about 300 coaches who work outside the classroom, mostly helping teachers with their skills and development.

Vitti has already started temporarily shifting dozens of those coaches back into the classroom.

“It’s hard for me as a superintendent to talk about having vacancies or having students that do not have a full-time teacher right now when there are teachers available, but working with adults and not children,” said Vitti.

Brady said she worries that eliminating too many coaching positions could make the problems worse down the road.

“There has to be something there to mentor and to guide the first, second, third and fourth-year teaching workforce that we have, to give them the support and tools they need to be successful in the classroom. If not, they’re going to leave and we have another open classroom,” said Brady.

Vitti suggested looking into a “master teacher” concept instead, in which certain teachers would be paid a higher salary to teach in the classroom, but also have specific time in their schedules to coach other teachers.

Vitti said the three schools in the district with the highest percentages of current vacancies on their faculties are George Washington Carver Elementary School, Northwestern Middle School and Normandy Village Elementary School.

Cox Media Group