Teacher vacancies down 40% in Henrico's public schools since start of 2025-26 school year

Since August 2025, Henrico Schools has filled nearly 70 teacher vacancies, with 58 of those positions being filled at schools in Eastern Henrico.

From Aug. 18, 2025 to Sept. 4 this year, the division has reduced instructional vacancies from 176 to 107, with a 40% reduction in Fairfield District schools and a nearly 60% reduction in Varina District schools.

Schools in Eastern Henrico historically have struggled with a higher number of teacher vacancies than the rest of the county. In 2022, schools such as John Rolfe Middle and Glen Lea Elementary saw more than one-third of their teacher positions vacant, while Highland Springs Elementary saw more than half vacant.

While Eastern Henrico schools still account for the majority of teacher vacancies in 2026, a number of schools have made significant progress over the past few years. Rolfe Middle, which had the highest teacher vacancy rate in the county in 2022 with 22 vacancies, now only has three vacancies. Highland Springs Elementary and Glen Lea Elementary are down from 13 teacher vacancies in 2022 to five now.

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Much of that progress has happened recently; in the fall of 2024, about a year after Highland Springs Elementary parted ways with the Achievable Dream Academy program and switched back to the traditional classroom model, the school saw 80% of general education teacher positions vacant.

By the summer of 2025, 60% of the school's teachers were certified, and as of this past September, 95% of teacher positions are covered by certified teachers.

Henrico School Board member Alicia Atkins, who represents the Varina District, said that the decreased vacancies not only shows that Henrico is recruiting more licensed teachers, but also that many non-certified teachers already working in the district are earning their licensure.

“I am incredibly proud of the progress we are seeing in our schools,” she said. “These numbers represent more than fewer vacancies on a spreadsheet. They represent educators choosing to come to Henrico, teachers choosing to stay, and dedicated professionals investing in our students.”

HCPS has ‘embraced the mantra of grow-your-own’

HCPS has several grow-your-own programs that help current non-certified staff earn their licensure. In 2023, the division launched its own Teacher Licensure Cohort, an alternative pathway to full certification, and has since seen more than 400 staffers participate. 

HCPS’ Annual Resident Educator program, designed for long-term substitutes serving in vacant positions, provides another pathway to full licensure, and about 53% of program participants in 2025-2026 already have transitioned into full-time teaching positions.

“Recruitment remains important, but we know we cannot recruit our way out of every staffing challenge,” said Fairfield District school board member Ryan Young. “We must also invest in the people who are already serving our students.”

Young said that he believes that the significant reductions in vacancies are due to the division’s “grow-your-own” approach. During the past school year, Fairfield District schools have filled 22 vacant positions mainly through “investing in our own staff,” said Young.

“My principals have embraced the mantra of ‘grow-your-own’. . . creating environments where educators feel supported,” he said. “They are not simply filling vacancies. They are identifying talented people already serving in our schools, supporting their development and helping them become fully-licensed educators who can build long-term careers with HCPS.”

HCPS also saw a 17% reduction in the number of provisionally-licensed teachers during the 2025-2026 school year, with a 30% reduction in the Fairfield District – illustrating the effectiveness of HPCS’ teacher licensure programs, according to Young.

Teachers with provisional licenses have a bachelor’s degree but have not completed all of the prep coursework to receive full teacher certification. A provisional license is valid for a three-year period under the Virginia Department of Education, allowing teachers the time to finish their coursework and receive full licensure.

In the past year, HCPS has been particularly successful in helping middle and high school teachers receive full licensure; the number of provisionally-licensed teachers at the secondary level has decreased by almost 30%.

Some individual schools have seen notable progress as well, with Rolfe Middle, Fairfield Middle, Brookland Middle, Quioccasin Middle, and several other schools reducing the number of provisionally-licensed teachers by 50% or more in the past year.

Still ‘more work to be done’ in exceptional education

But despite improvements, a large portion of HCPS’ exceptional education teachers remain provisionally-licensed. As of September, 126 exceptional education teachers throughout the division are still not fully-licensed – the highest of any teacher category.

HCPS also has continued to struggle with a high number of vacancies among exceptional education teachers. 

The division still is actively recruiting for 39 vacant exceptional education teaching positions and encouraging the high number of special ed provisionally-licensed teachers to achieve full licensure. 

While students with disabilities make up a small percentage of HCPS’ student population, they are a growing demographic in the division, and many of these students have exceptionally high needs, according to HCPS Superintendent Amy Cashwell.

During the past five years, 587 new students with disabilities have joined the division, with 385 needing autism-related services.

English Language Learners are another growing, high-needs population in HCPS, although the division has had more success in filling ESL teacher vacancies and staffing fully-certified ESL teachers. Currently, there are no vacancies among ESL teachers, and only nine teachers have provisional licenses.

Atkins: 'The work is not finished'

This past spring, Cashwell and the school board initially put forward a requested 2026-2027 division budget to the Henrico Board of Supervisors that asked for 153 new teaching positions, including 50 new ESL teachers and 27 new exceptional education teachers. HCPS leaders cited the positions as “critical needs” for the two student demographics.

But after an amended request from HCPS staff and a contentious joint budget meeting, the board of supervisors and the school board approved 91 new positions instead, a total that contained 20 new ESL teachers and seven new special ed teachers for the 2026-2027 school year.

While the 62 additional new positions were put in a reserve in case of extra state funding, the Virginia General Assembly budget passed this spring did not include more funding to sustain those positions for this school year, said Henrico County Manager John Vithoulkas.

Despite recent improvements in teacher vacancies, both Atkins and Young stressed that the division still acknowledges the continuing struggles to find fully-licensed teachers and will continue to actively recruit and invest in current staff.

“We should celebrate this progress while remaining honest that the work is not finished,” Atkins said. “Teacher recruitment and retention remain challenges across Virginia and the nation.”

“Now, we must determine how to sustain this progress from one school year to the next. We do not want to make significant gains one year only to lose ground the following year,” said Young. “Our goal must be consistent progress toward having a fully certified teacher in every classroom.”

Liana Hardy is the Citizen’s government and education reporter. Support her work and articles like this one by making a contribution to the Citizen.