By Adele Uphaus
MANAGING EDITOR AND CORRESPONDENT
Teacher vacancy rates in some Fredericksburg-area school divisions at the start of this academic year were higher than the statewide rate.
The Virginia Department of Education last week announced that statewide, the teacher vacancy rate in August of 2024 was 3.4%, down half a percentage point over the vacancy rate from the 2023-24 school year.
But in Caroline County, the teacher vacancy rate as of the VDOE’s August 26, 2024, report was 14.2%; in Spotsylvania, it was 8%; and in King George, it was 6.5%.
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Stafford and Fredericksburg City’s school divisions had vacancy rates that were below the state average, at 2.4% and 2%, respectively.
Paige Tucker, human resources director for Caroline County schools, said the VDOE’s instructions were to include positions filled by long-term substitutes in the report of vacant positions.
“Caroline County Public Schools is working hard to address teacher shortages through multiple avenues,” she said in an email. “By utilizing long-term substitutes who are in the process of completing teacher preparation programs or pursuing licensure through alternative routes like iTeach, CCPS is fostering new talent from within.”
Tucker added that the division also recently hired eight licensed teachers from the Philippines on J1 visas.
“This demonstrates a commitment to finding qualified educators globally to fill immediate needs,” she wrote. “These efforts are essential in ensuring that students receive a quality education despite the challenges many districts are facing with teacher shortage.”
Though Caroline still has the highest teacher vacancy rate in the area, it is down almost two percentage points over the 2023-24 school year, according to position and exit counts reported to VDOE by school divisions.
King George’s teacher vacancy rate was about a percentage point higher in August than it was last school year, and Spotsylvania’s was five points higher.
Statewide, 35 of Virginia’s 132 school divisions had a 0-1% vacancy rate as of August, and 64 divisions had a vacancy rate under 2%.
“Our schools divisions have worked incredibly hard to ensure that every Virginia child has a high-quality, committed teacher in their K-12 classroom,” said Lisa Coons, superintendent of public instruction, in a VDOE press release about the vacancy rates. “We remain focused on putting more qualified teachers in schools across the Commonwealth by providing innovative opportunities for aspiring educators, lowering classroom sizes, and decreasing workloads to retain the great teachers we currently have in our classrooms.”
On August 28, the state Board of Education approved a new measure that allows local school boards to issue one-year, nonrenewable licenses that are valid within the local school division only. Individuals who are eligible for a local license must have a bachelor’s degree and “relevant experience or training.”
“This license option allows more time for applicants to complete provisional licensure requirements,” according to the VDOE. “Divisions will support local eligibility teachers through the licensure process while they are teaching.”
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