Aspiring educators in Lynchburg now have more opportunities than ever to become licensed teachers, thanks to the new Lynchburg City Schools (LCS) Classified Teacher Program. The brand-new initiative offers an alternative route for those with bachelor’s degrees to gain invaluable classroom experience while pursuing their provisional teaching license.
“This program empowers prospective teachers to make a difference in the lives of our students as well as create new career pathways for themselves,” said LCS Chief Human Resources Officer Sherry Sheppard.
Classified teachers will be hired full-time with comprehensive benefits and a starting salary of $42,300, which is at the 90th percentile of the current starting teacher salary. They’ll take on all the responsibilities of a licensed teacher, gaining critical hands-on experience. All the while, they’ll receive ongoing mentorship and support from experienced educators at their schools.
An accessible answer to traditional teacher preparation programs, the Classified Teacher Program offers a new level of support to educators in training. In turn, schools stand to benefit from the new talent made available.
“This has opened up the candidate pool significantly and allowed us to hire outstanding educators who have the heart and skills to be teachers but do not have the formal courses yet to be fully licensed,” said Bedford Hills Elementary School principal Sherri Steele.
Interested candidates can apply for open teacher positions here.