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Gov. Glenn Youngkin signs executive order to launch Bridging the Gap Initiative, addresses teacher shortages

Gov. Youngkin announced Thursday new initiatives targeted at addressing teacher shortages and recovering from learning loss.

RICHMOND, Va. — With students back in class, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed an executive directive Thursday to address teacher shortages and launch a new initiative.

The directive, entitled Executive Directive Three: Addressing Teacher Shortages in Virginia Schools has a number of plans.

The directive intends to expedite teaching and renew licenses whenever possible in order to facilitate "letting high-quality teachers teach." It also shares the goal of building an "innovative" and no-cost apprenticeship in order to build the K-12 teacher pipeline.

Youngkin also addressed his plans in the directive to target teacher recruitment and retention efforts in communities and subject areas most in need. He intends to connect teachers with childcare options and build the early childhood educator pipeline by training high school students as childcare specialists.

Lastly, Youngkin's directive highlights his plan to collect and provide accurate, timely data on teaching positions in an effort to better recruit teachers, retain teachers, and address shortages when they occur.

“Children in Virginia have suffered the disastrous effects of COVID-related school closures; initiatives like Bridging the Gap and my executive directive to address the teacher shortages are necessary to get and keep students on track," the governor said.

“Parents and teachers matter. This directive is a comprehensive approach with multiple solutions to ensuring every student has a great teacher in the classroom.”

Youngkin also announced the launch of the "Bridging the Gap" Initiative, 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," the governor's office highlighted.

He shared that 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."

More information on the Bridging the Gap Initiative, including the 15 participating pilot school divisions, can be found by clicking here. 

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