Teacher Shortage Prompts Bigger Bonus Offer At Prince William Schools

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, VA — An ongoing shortage of bus drivers and teachers continues in the Prince William County school system, which has increased the bonus offer to educators take on another class, according to Superintendent LaTanya McDade.

On Tuesday, the school system's job site listed 394 openings for certified instructional staff, including teachers, librarians, and reading specialists.

On Aug. 5, McDade said the school system was working to fill 318 of the openings. In a letter to families on Friday, McDade said they hired 39 new teachers last week.

"We continue to work through staffing challenges to ensure every school is staffed for the first day, and hiring continues every day," McDade wrote in Friday's letter. "Our new educators will join our returning teachers on Monday, August 15, in preparation for our students’ first day of school."

To cope with the ongoing shortage of teachers, the school system is asking some current middle and high school teachers to teach an additional section. The school system has increased the bonus for teaching an additional section from $12,000 for the year to $14,000.

"In some limited circumstances, there may be changes to course offerings at the secondary level as staffing is finalized, and at the elementary level, class sizes may be larger than preferred," McDade wrote in a letter on Aug. 5. "Should this occur, PWCS will continue to ensure fidelity with state class size requirements and continued compliance with case management caps, which includes Individualized Education Programs."

McDade noted the school system is seeing an increase in student enrollment and added more than 170 instructional teaching positions for the 2022-2023 school year.

"Our division’s fervent goal is to work resourcefully and diligently toward a highly qualified teacher in every classroom, and we continue to remain hard at work in filling our remaining vacancies in a highly competitive market amidst a national teacher shortage," McDade wrote on Aug. 5.

The American Federation of Teachers is also concerned about the ongoing shortage of teachers. In a July report, the AFT noted that 300,000 people leave the teaching profession each year, including 150,000 people who leave before retirement age.

The AFT said the turnover rate for teachers is nearly double other professions, as 30 percent of teachers leave the profession within five years.

Randi Weingarten is the president of the American Federation of Teachers.

"Educators have never been treated in a way that matched the importance of education. Underpaid, under-respected, often with challenging conditions," Weingarten wrote in the July report. "Stressful, frustrating, challenging, overwhelming, yet rewarding. Those are the five most frequent words I have heard from educators this year. The pandemic, combined with the political culture wars, has made the last two years the toughest in modern times for educators."

According to Weingarten, an internal poll showed that 75 percent of AFT teachers would not recommend the profession to a young person.

"The truth is we call it a teacher shortage, but in reality, we have a shortage of respect for

teachers and all school staff," Weingarten wrote. "We have a shortage of the professional working conditions teachers and school staff deserve, conditions that allow teachers and school staff to do their best for their students."

Still, Weingarten believes that today's issue are not insurmountable. She outlined several recommendations in the July report, including increased pay for teachers, reduced paperwork, increased diversity, a reduction in standardized tests, and increased respect for teachers from school administrators.

The first day of school for Prince William County students is Monday, Aug. 22. Class schedules will be available on ParentVUE for elementary school students on Tuesday and for middle and high school students on Friday. Bus schedules are already available on ParentVUE.

See also: Prince William County Schools Calendar 2022-2023: Holidays, Key Dates