Virginia schools still struggling to fill critical teaching positions, new report finds

Virginia’s teacher shortage isn’t letting up, and the state’s latest report confirms what many educators already know — critical instructional positions remain unfilled, particularly in special education and elementary classrooms.

A state report announced Monday during the Advisory Board on Teacher Education and Licensure meeting highlights the ongoing demand for teachers, mirroring last year’s list of top critical shortage areas. Elementary education remains the most in-demand field, followed by special education and middle school instruction.

One shift in the rankings: health and physical education cracked the top 10 list of critical areas for the upcoming school year, a jump from last year when it was considered a lower-need field.

Other subjects facing shortages include high school English and science, career and technical education, math, high school history and social science, and foreign languages. 

As required by the General Assembly, the Virginia Office of Teacher Education annually identifies the most urgent teaching vacancies for the next academic year. 

Last summer, the state made progress in closing the teacher gap, reducing the vacancy rate from 4.7% to 3.4%. However, ongoing concerns about pay and the political climate surrounding education continue to push some teachers out of the profession.

In response, lawmakers have pursued additional strategies to address the shortages. Along with boosting teacher salaries last year, the legislature has passed measures allowing temporary teachers to remain in school divisions longer and expanding the pipeline of career and technical education instructors.

Gov. Glenn Youngkin is now reviewing the budget amendments and education-related bills passed last month. He has until later this month to take action. 

The Virginia Office of Teacher Education will present its findings to the Board of Education and the Virginia Retirement System, which has previously been used as a tool to incentivize teacher recruitment and retention.

This article first appeared on Virginia Mercury and is republished here with permission. Virginia Mercury is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Virginia Mercury maintains editorial independence.