Skip To Main Content
School Board of the City of Virginia Beach names Dr. Donald Robertson Jr. superintendent

The School Board of the City of Virginia Beach voted to name Dr. Donald Robertson Jr. as superintendent at its meeting Jan. 23. A native of Hampton Roads, Dr. Robertson began his career as a math teacher with Virginia Beach City Public Schools (VBCPS) in 1988 and progressed in leadership roles including assistant principal of Bayside High School, principal of Salem High School, chief strategy and innovation officer, chief schools officer, chief of staff and acting superintendent. 

School Board of the City of Virginia Beach names Dr. Donald Robertson Jr. superintendent

The School Board of the City of Virginia Beach voted to name Dr. Donald Robertson Jr. as superintendent at its meeting Jan. 23. A native of Hampton Roads, Dr. Robertson began his career as a math teacher with Virginia Beach City Public Schools (VBCPS) in 1988 and progressed in leadership roles including assistant principal of Bayside High School, principal of Salem High School, chief strategy and innovation officer, chief schools officer, chief of staff and acting superintendent. 

Logo Virginia Beach City Public Schools Charting the Course

Hundreds of Virginia Beach City Public Schools (VBCPS) students will participate in the 16th Annual African American Male Summit on Jan. 20 at Frank W. Cox High School. Boys in grades six through 12 will share ideas with each other and with adult community members on topics such as student leadership, community involvement, relationship-building, and physical and mental well-being.

Teacher Licensure

The primary purpose for licensing teachers and other school personnel is to maintain standards of professional competence. This responsibility is set forth in Sections 22.1-298 and 22.1-299 of the Code of Virginia. Virginia Beach City Public Schools shall regularly employ no individual as a contracted teacher unless the individual holds a license or provisional license issued by the Board of Education.

The Virginia Beach City Public Schools Licensure staff is responsible for processing all licensure requests for our currently employed teachers and administrators. Individuals who are considering pursuing a course of study to become a teacher should address their specific questions as outlined in the Approved Program section on this page.

Dyslexia Awareness Training
Effective July 1, 2017, every person seeking initial licensure or renewal of a license shall complete Dyslexia Awareness training, provided by VDOE, on the indicators of dyslexia, as that term is defined by the board pursuant to regulations, and the evidence-based interventions and accommodations for dyslexia. This module is accessible from PCs and Mac computers. Viewing on an iPad or smartphone requires the download of the free "mobile player." Users should complete the module in one session and have access to a printer. Read the transcript (Word) Go to Learning Disabilities for additional dyslexia resources.

Required Child Abuse and Neglect Recognition and Intervention Training (CANT)
In the Commonwealth of Virginia, individuals seeking an initial license and license renewal must complete training in child abuse recognition and intervention in accordance with curriculum guidelines approved by the Board of Education. This training, which takes about one hour to complete, is available at no charge through web-based instruction. You are advised that completing CANT will be part of the employment process for applicants wishing to teach in any school division in Virginia. Upon completion of the training, you will need to print your certificate to use as verification of having met the requirement.

Required Emergency First Aid, Hands-on CPR, and AED Training
Effective on July 1, 2013, every person seeking initial licensure or renewal of a license must provide evidence of completion of certification or training in Emergency first aid, Hands-on Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), and the use of automated external defibrillators (AED).

Individuals submitting an initial application for a license or a renewal request must submit official written documentation providing evidence that all three topics (emergency first aid, CPR, AED) were included in the certification or training. Waiver Requirements-Any person with a disability whose disability prevents him or her from completing the certification or training may submit a request for a waiver from the new requirement. The individual must submit a written request and provide official documentation identifying the disabling condition preventing completion or the certification or training.

School Counselor Training
Effective July 1, 2017, the Code of Virginia requires every person seeking initial licensure or renewal of a license with an endorsement as a school counselor to complete training in the recognition of mental health disorder and behavioral distress, including depression, trauma, violence, youth suicide, and substance abuse. Go to Superintendent's Memo #173-17 for additional information on training options.

  1. The Office of Student Support Services will work with Youth Mental Health First Aid to offer face-to-face training opportunities for VBCPS school counselors to meet the new licensure requirement outlined in SB 1117. The face-to-face sessions will cover all of the required components and the dates for these sessions are to be determined. Once confirmed, the dates will be communicated to staff via email and posted on this site.
  2. Additionally, school counselors are encouraged to access the free online courses (listed below) categorized into the required areas of training (depression, trauma, violence, youth suicide, and substance abuse). School counselors must have training that covers all five categories and no individual training listed below covers all of the areas. So, more than one online training will need to be completed to satisfy the requirement. For example, an individual could complete Trainings 1 and 3 (one session in each) to meet the statutory requirement since the combination of the two sessions meets all five categories.

Virginia Licensure Regulations: Three Routes for Licensure

Approved Program: A Virginia state-approved teacher preparation program. For more information on this route to licensure, you should contact the Virginia college or university in which you wish to enroll.

  1. Reciprocity: An individual moving into Virginia from any state may qualify for a Virginia teaching license with comparable endorsement areas if the individual has completed a state-approved teacher training program through a regionally accredited four-year college or university, OR if the individual holds a valid out-of-state teaching license which must be currently valid at the time the application for a Virginia license is made.
  2. Alternate Route to Licensure: An alternate route to licensure is available through the recommendation of an individual's employing Virginia school division or nonpublic school.

A professional teacher's assessment prescribed by the Board of Education must be satisfied through all three routes to licensure.

For your convenience, A Quick Glance at Licensure is available via our website. This on-line brochure contains information and guidelines for teacher licensure and renewal procedures for a Virginia teacher license.