In Virginia Beach, 70 teachers have resigned since August. One educator told local officials recently that teachers are at a tipping point. But look statewide, and it’s difficult to pin down the numbers.
The Virginia Education Association, which represents teachers, doesn’t keep track of teacher retention rates statewide. And Ben Kiser, Executive Director of the Virginia Association of School Superintendents, says that amidst the pandemic the VASS did not conduct a statewide survey on vacancies at the start of the school year, like they’ve done in the past.
“And so I don’t have specific hard data as to whether there are vacancies and where regions are struggling,” said Kiser.
Radio IQ reached out to several school districts, including Henrico County, Richmond, Roanoke and Charlottesville. They all have vacancies, but say the numbers aren’t particularly worse than they normally are this time of year. Roanoke was the only district that reported three retirements due to COVID-19.
That matches what Kiser has heard anecdotally - that some teachers are choosing to retire early. "I mean before March of this year and the pandemic hit Virginia, like most states, was still in the midst of a teacher shortage. And school divisions generally every year have difficulty filling all of the positions that they have," Kiser points out.
Kiser says he has also heard of schools struggling to recruit substitute teachers.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
