Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin announced two new measures Thursday aimed at teacher shortages and learning gaps. The first measure called Executive Directive Three opens up additional pathways for qualified teachers to earn licenses as well as the creation of a no cost apprenticeship program to build up a pipeline to keep teachers in classrooms. “This directive is a comprehensive approach with multiple solutions to ensuring every student has a great teacher in the classroom,” said Youngkin. In a statement from the Governor’s office, The Bridging the Gap Initiative was also launched today in partnership with 15 school divisions. It is a critical piece of our efforts to restore educational excellence to Virginia’s public schools through individualized data, Personalized Learning Plans, and training to cultivate partnerships between teachers, parents, and students. One of the divisions in the pilot program of 15 for the 2022-2023 school year is the Pittsylvania County Schools. 

Executive Directive Three: Addressing Teacher Shortages in Virginia Schools will:

• Let high-quality teachers teach, especially by expediting teaching and renewal licenses whenever possible.
• Build the K-12 teacher pipeline with an innovative, no-cost apprenticeship program.
• Target teacher recruitment and retention efforts in communities and subject areas most in need.
• Connect teachers with child care options and build the early childhood educator pipeline by training high school students as childcare specialists.
• Collect and provide accurate, timely data on teaching positions, including information on what is working for teachers and what is not, so that we can better recruit teachers, retain teachers, and address shortages when they occur.

Bridging the Gap will:

• Provide individualized student data reports so that every K-8 student, parent and teacher has all of a student’s assessment information in an understandable, actionable report. This information about student proficiency and learning loss empowers these critical stakeholders to make the best decisions to ensure every child is prepared for life.
• Ensure every student who is not on track has a Personalized Learning Plan that commits to a set of actions that teachers, parents, and students will take to address learning gaps. These Personalized Learning Plans will be developed and executed in partnership with teachers, parents, and students.
• Provide comprehensive training to teachers on how to communicate with parents and students about where a student is academically and the steps that will be taken together to get a student to grade-level proficiency.