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“We need support.” The challenges faced by Buckingham County Public Schools was summed up by Superintendent Dr. John Keeler in those three words. The issue, Keeler told the school board during their Wednesday, Nov. 13 meeting, is that the district is starting to see kids come in that need more than what teachers can provide on their own. 

“We’re just getting inundated with children that need more help,” Keeler said. “Children that need an IEP (Individual Education Plan) or a 504.” 

To explain, an IEP is a written document that teachers, the child’s parents and specialists put together, to help a student with disabilities succeed. Sometimes they include things like changes to instruction, the type of classroom setting or goals for the student to work towards. They also include plans for special services like speech or physical therapy, along with counseling, behavioral intervention or other needed help. A 504 plan is similar, but designed for students with more severe disabilities that limit things like walking, seeing, hearing, speaking or overall learning. 

“We’re blessed that we’ve got a teacher and an aide in every classroom, but sometimes that teacher and aide can’t cover that,” Keeler said. “So sometimes, we have to put more money towards that. That’s just my personal opinion, because it’s not getting better.” 

Keeler informed the board that based on what he’s seen, both here and at conferences with other school district officials, Buckingham needs to put a plan together with more funding to help beyond just teachers and aides in these situations. Otherwise, he’s afraid the school district may start to lose teachers. Keeler pointed to a recent conference where the Virginia Beach superintendent spoke and said that district lost 25 teachers last month alone, due to what they saw as frustration and lack of support. And if you push too much, if you ask people to do more and more without giving them any help, Keeler said, there’s a chance teachers will leave. 

That’s something Buckingham officials will look at while going through the budget process, to find ways of getting help for teachers and students.