ALDIE, Va. — Loudoun County Public Schools welcomed its newest teachers for orientation with a pep rally and a red carpet Friday.

“School is not like any other business,” Loudoun County Public Schools spokesman Wayde B. Byard said of the system’s newest employees.

“They are very special. They are going to be teaching a precious commodity: our young people.”

And to show how special the more than 700 new employees are to the system, the John Champ High School band blasted pep songs as the school’s cheerleaders welcomed the newest faculty members on a red carpet. Even Superintendent Dr. Eric Williams was dressed in a tuxedo for the occasion.

“We bring in about 700 [new employees] annually from across the country, mostly from Virginia,” Byard told WTOP. “A lot former students of Loudoun County.”

Loudoun County does a lot of teacher recruiting in Pennsylvania.

“It’s a union state that’s very hard to break into. We get teachers who go to school in Pennsylvania, can’t get into the system there, come down here very willingly and stay. We have a lot of Steelers fans in the district right now.”

With Riverside High School opening this year, more than 100 of the new hires will be going there. Other hires will fill vacancies throughout the district.

Loudoun County has seen rapid growth in recent years, rising from just over 86,000 residents in 1990 to more than 312,000 residents in 2010. That, plus the school system’s accolades, has attracted many teachers to work in Loudoun County schools.

“We have a chance for advancement here,” Byard says. “Our two youngest principals this year are 31. So, people know that if they come here, they’ll get good training and a chance to advance.”