From January through March 2024, the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) and the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) jointly administered the 2024 Virginia School Survey of Climate and Working Conditions (the Virginia School Survey) to classroom instructors and staff in Virginia public schools serving grades 9 through 12. The survey was also administered to students in grades 9 through 12; DCJS reported these results separately on the Virginia Center for School and Campus Safety website. The Virginia School Survey represents the continued partnership that meets DCJS’s legislative mandate to conduct a secondary school (grades 6 through 12) climate survey and VDOE’s legislative mandate to conduct a working conditions survey of all licensed school personnel. It should be noted that this report is based solely on data collected from teachers during the 2024 survey administration. A significant delay in the data delivery to VDOE occurred due to the survey contractor, in partnership with DCJS, transitioning to a new platform. Additionally, because the Virginia School Survey alternates annually between surveying elementary/middle and high school classroom teachers, year-to-year comparisons should only be made between alternating years (e.g., 2022 and 2024), both of which targeted high school teachers, to ensure consistency in the respondent population and the comparability of results.

The 2024 survey results indicate that teachers reported positive perceptions of overall climate and working conditions. The data indicated that there was a six percent increase in teachers who agreed or strongly agreed that overall, their school was a good place to work and learn since 2022 (up from 63.6 percent to 67.4 percent). The 2024 results showed promising improvement in the domains of retention from the 2022 survey. According to the 2024 survey results, there was a seven percent increase of teachers who indicated they intended to continue teaching at their current school (from 76.6 percent to 81.9).

The 2024 teacher survey results reflect continued strengths in key areas of school climate and working conditions, with particularly high ratings for teacher autonomy, collegiality, student–adult relationships, and rigorous instruction, indicating that teachers feel trusted, supported, and empowered in their instructional roles. Most indicators remained stable or improved compared to 2022 demonstrating a generally positive teaching environment.

While the survey findings are largely positive, a few areas emerged where additional support may be needed. Demands on teacher’s time received the lowest average rating, reflecting ongoing concerns about workload and time management. Measures such as student engagement, relationship among students, and managing student behavior received relatively lower scores, consistent with past survey results from pre-pandemic and pointing to continued opportunities to improve the student experience in high schools.

Looking ahead, DCJS and VDOE co-administered the Virginia School Survey during the 2024-2025 school year, focusing on school climate and working conditions among elementary and middle schools serving grades 6 through 8.