RICHMOND, Va -- Virginia schools are relying on unqualified employees to fill teacher vacancies as educators continue to leave the profession at record rates, according to a new state report.
The Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC), a group that serves as a watchdog agency for Virginia's General Assembly, presented its research on COVID-19's impact on education to lawmakers on Monday.
Through academic research, focus groups, interviews with school leaders, and academic outcomes, JLARC compiled data revealing students suffered unprecedented learning loss during the pandemic, partly due to the effects of remote learning.
A full rebound in achievement isn't expected for another three to five years.
“We know that we are in crisis. We are on the cusp of losing an entire generation of children if we do not start acting immediately to address this crisis," Governor Youngkin's Secretary of Education Aimee Guidera said as she responded to JLARC's findings. "We all knew in our hearts and from our personal experiences that COVID-19 had unbelievably terrible impacts on our families and on our children. And now, as we all just heard, we have hard data - cold hard data - telling us that we are in crisis."
Scores for Virginia fourth-grade students on the National Assessment of Educational Progress reading and math tests declined more than the national average declines. Compared to national averages, Virginia is now performing worse in fourth-grade reading and about equal in fourth-grade math.
Before the pandemic, according to the JLARC report, Virginia ranked seventh and fourth out of 50 states for fourth-grade reading and fourth-grade math tests on average, but declined to 34th and 20th for those two tests in 2022.
"Looking at that, I mean, those are appalling numbers," Delegate Lee Ware (R - Chesterfield), a retired teacher, said responding to the scores.
JLARC said COVID-19 led to chronic student absenteeism, behavioral issues in the classroom, and increased mental health needs that schools don't have the resources to meet.
The group also said that Covid's impact on the teacher workforce was a "major concern."
In August, the Virginia Department of Education collected data from 111 school divisions and found about 3,300 teacher vacancies, which marked a 25% increase from what the divisions had reported in October 2021.
The report revealed 52% of Virginia's school districts were not confident they'd be able to employ a suitable workforce this year.
Data shows teachers are leaving the profession at a rate 12% higher than pre-Covid. On the flip side, teachers are entering the workforce at a rate 15% lower than pre-Covid.
"This should scare the heck out of everyone that is interested in workforce, development, jobs, the future of Virginia," State Sen. Jeremy McPike (D - Manassas) said. "That is a widening gap that is going the wrong direction. That is not going to be supplied by [American Rescue Plan Act] funding but by long-term funding solutions that we have to address."
Pointing again at the graph, McPike said, "That should worry everyone in this room."
According to teacher surveys, JLARC said educators are generally more unhappy and feel less respected than before the pandemic.
To make up for rising vacancies, the group said Virginia schools are relying on an increasing number of teachers who are not fully licensed or come from out of the field. JLARC said teacher quality is the biggest contributor to student success.
Richmond Public Schools teacher Stephen Straus agreed. He said his top concern is a lack of staffing in schools.
"The vacancies are impacting the students. When you have three out of four of your classes that are being filled by new teachers or long-term substitute teachers, those are teachers that are without experience. Then that's going to transfer into their next class for the following year," Straus said. "We do need more seasoned, experienced teachers in the classroom providing support. Ideally, there'd be two adults in every classroom."
Emphasizing points made by JLARC regarding mental health challenges among students, Straus said there aren't enough counselors in the buildings, and many of them are tasked with non-counseling responsibilities.
"We have students that need more mental support and support for their social needs, and we're just not meeting the expectations across the Commonwealth," he said. "We just need more folks in the building who can do that and listen to the students."
To combat teacher concerns, JLARC recommended that lawmakers create funding for additional instructors in the classroom and for teacher retention and hiring bonuses.
Straus agreed but added lawmakers and Governor Youngkin should prioritize raising teacher salaries.
"With people leaving education, we need to get them to stay, and one of the ways that we get them to stay is by paying them more," he said.
Taikein Cooper with the education advocacy organization Virginia Excels said JLARC's research proved both aisles of the General Assembly need to collaborate when it comes to funding K-12 in the Commonwealth.
"We don't improve anything by cutting money," Cooper said. "That was what excited me. Like hey, here's an opportunity for us to develop some public-private partnerships and really work to enhance educational outcomes for our students."
Cooper said he hoped lawmakers continued conversations surrounding raising pay for teachers in an effort to "respect them as professionals" along with being more intentional in recruiting diverse teachers across the state.
He also agreed that supporting the mental and emotional needs of students must remain a top priority and called on leaders to consider investing in wraparound services.
"We have to stop thinking about education as what happens from 8 a.m. -3 p.m. in those four walls in the school," Cooper said. "One of the things that the JLARC study really highlighted was the need for mental health support, and so if children have undiagnosed mental health issues, or if they are houseless or hungry, all these things are intertwined into their education outcomes."
Governor Youngkin is expected to present a budget proposal to lawmakers later this year which will serve as a starting point for the 2023 General Assembly session.
