CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. -- Chesterfield County is the largest of several Central Virginia school districts welcoming back students Monday for the 2022-23 school year.
Earlier this month, Chesterfield reported 245 open teaching positions.
That equates to about 5% of the county's teaching staff.
Superintendent Dr. Merv Daughtery shared a positive update about their vacancies as he greeted students outside Bensley Elementary School on Monday.
"Today every class is filled. Every bus route is covered," he explained. "We were below 200 [vacancies] when I checked this weekend, but we were able to cover them. It may show a vacancy, but the class is covered with basically a classroom instructor."
Daugherty said his team had to think outside of the box to fill the vacancies. They looked internally and which employees could undergo a career change.
"We hired people who really wanted to be in the building and those who could get their provisionals and teaching certificates," he stated. "We are running right now 98.7 percent coverage with hiring. We feel really good where we are. We would like to have 100 percent."
The situation in Chesterfield County is not unique.
More than 70% of school districts nationwide reported low staffing numbers headed into this school year, according to data released by the U.S. Department of Education.
Henrico County reported 211 open teaching positions ahead of its first day next week.
"You might hear 200 teaching vacancies, and certainly we want to continue to reduce that number, but when you're talking about thousands of teachers across Henrico County Public Schools, that's a small percentage of our classrooms that we're still seeking to fill right now," Henrico Superintendent Dr. Amy Cashwell said earlier this month. "We're rethinking schedules and staffing plans, to make sure that we're covered and we have drivers on our buses. We're prepared to welcome our students on the first day."
There is no one reason for the teacher shortage, however, reasons often cited include the pandemic, low pay, and a lack of respect from leadership and some parents.
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