Today, the Virginia Department of Education announced major progress in restoring strength and stability to the Commonwealth’s educator workforce. Since 2023 teacher vacancies have declined by 35.9% and teacher pay has increased significantly across Virginia.
Teacher vacancies fell for the third straight year, dropping from 3.9% in 2023–24 to 2.5% in 2025–26. Eighteen school divisions reported zero vacancies and all Governor’s Schools reported zero vacancies. Superintendent regions saw declines statewide, led by Region 7 (Southwest) at 1.1% vacancies, Region 4 (Northern Virginia) at 1.2%, and Region 6 (Western Virginia) at 1.3%. Two regions saw slight increases.
Key investments and reforms
- Significant state funding for teacher pay between FY2023 and FY2026 helped many divisions exceed national averages for starting salaries. Governor Youngkin signed into law support for a 19.3% increase in teacher pay over four years.
- Executive Directive 3 sped hiring gave divisions more flexibility to fill vacancies and targeted resources to schools with the greatest staffing needs.
- Universal teacher license reciprocity was enacted to immediately license experienced educators moving to Virginia; 4,535 universal licenses have been granted to date.
- Registered apprenticeship and residency programs expanded, with 241 teacher apprentices 32 principal apprentices and 194 teacher residents across dozens of divisions.
- Alternative pathways and providers such as iteach helped recruit career switchers and subject-matter experts; more than 2,000 candidates enrolled and about 600 have completed programs.
Continue reading on WVVA.
