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Virginia Beach City Public Schools earns an A+ in employee benefits
By focusing on a culture of wellness, integrating services to empower participants to change unhealthy behaviors and encouraging engagement through a highly personalized approach, school systems can create a winning benefits package that attracts and retains top talent.
4 Min Read
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The cost of teacher benefits is rising faster than the rate of salary increases. It’s no surprise, then, that school administrators are doubling down on tactics for gaining the most value from the benefits they offer. Key to success: focusing on mental well-being and healthy lifestyle support.
Crafting the right teacher benefits strategy is critical not just for retaining top talent, but also for strengthening teacher well-being and quality of life. A 2024 State of the American Teacher survey by Rand Corporation found that among public school teachers in all grades:
About twice as many teachers report frequent stress or burnout compared with working adults in comparable professions. Rates were higher among female teachers and Black teachers.
Teachers worked an average of nine hours more per week (53 hours) than working adults in comparable professions.
Meanwhile, among workers nationally, a recent survey found employees rank stress management programs as the No. 1 resource they would like to see included in benefits packages (28.2%). Nearly one out of four desire access to mental health support, while about one out of five want support for maintaining a healthy weight.
Crafting a benefits package that resonates
How can school administrators design benefits packages that offer the services employees crave while strengthening health and well-being and reducing care costs? There are four attributes of gold-standard benefits programs that leaders should consider.
Build a culture of wellness. For example, by folding a weight-loss solution into an existing suite of wellness programs and resources, school systems gain an edge in addressing the root cause of obesity and related chronic and mental health conditions, including stress, anxiety and depression, which ultimately lowers health-care costs. A full spectrum of integrated wellness tactics, tools and programs supports a culture focused on well-being. This increases employee happiness while aiding in employee recruitment and retention.
Focus on personalization. A one-size-fits-all solution won’t address the diverse needs of teachers and staff, including variations in lifestyle, age, physical activity levels, dietary needs, food preferences and work schedules. Choose an approach that could adapt to each participant’s journey to better health, such as resources for on-demand, individualized support based on eating patterns, physical activity preferences, stress levels, sleep patterns and more. For example, by focusing not just on what participants eat, but also how they eat, this allows for greater flexibility in the approach to weight management based on the individual’s culture, dietary preferences and physical abilities.
Help teachers and staff develop skills rooted in behavior change. Taking a whole-health approach to a school system’s well-being strategy has benefits beyond the physical impact for employees. It can also elevate participants’ ability to develop life skills while enhancing their quality of life.
Engage the population and deliver clinical results. Flexibility and individualization directly impact engagement and lead to better clinical results. These are key elements for success in preventing and even reversing chronic disease, increasing the chances for success in managing complex disease while decreasing the potential for future medical claims and associated costs.
One example of a school system that incorporates this gold-standard approach is Virginia Beach City Public School District (VBCPS), the fourth-largest school district in Virginia and one of the top 50 largest school systems in the United States. The school system’s teachers and staff face a high prevalence of chronic conditions, including obesity, diabetes, hypertension and musculoskeletal issues.
In collaboration with the city of Virginia Beach, VBCPS implemented a Beach Employee Wellness (BEWell) benefits program that integrates physical, mental health and weight-management services to improve the physical and mental well-being of its population. It also incorporates a flexible, highly personalized approach to benefits management and services to meet the unique needs of each participant—especially impressive given that the program has 10,000 eligible lives.
“We wanted to reach as many people as possible with our solution,” says Grace Aspiras, wellness benefits program specialist for VBCPS.
The impact has been remarkable. Today, 88% of VBCPS benefit program participants feel more in control of their weight. Two out of three are more physically active, and 62% report higher energy levels since participating in the program.
The power of a well-rounded approach
By focusing on a culture of wellness, integrating services to empower participants to change unhealthy behaviors, and encouraging engagement through a highly personalized approach, school systems can create a winning benefits package that attracts and retains top talent. It’s a vital tactic for helping team members live healthier lives while increasing productivity and satisfaction and reducing health care costs.
