VCU’s teacher residency program faces setback after losing federal funding

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- A Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) program designed to decrease staffing shortages in Richmond Public Schools (RPS) has lost $9 million in federal funding.

The program is called RTR (Richmond Teacher Residency) and it trains teachers for underserved, hard-to-staff schools in Central Virginia.

“Without the training, I would have walked away because it can be very difficult to handle the environment,” said John Burt, an RTR alumni and teacher at River City Middle School.

The program was hit by cuts as part of broader budget reductions by the Trump administration in areas such as education, diversity, equity and inclusion.

Burt described the program as a comprehensive year-long training experience, pairing new teachers with licensed mentors and gradually integrating them into demanding school environments.

"The federal grant pays for all of the [training] classes. It also gives you a stipend that you can use to pay for, like for rent and for food while you go through the year," Burt said.

Amid an ongoing and nationwide teacher shortage, the news has shocked educators.

Program founder Terry Dozier sent an email to RTR alumni, saying the federal fund termination came on Feb. 7. She explained that funding had allowed the program to train over 100 fully licensed teachers annually, benefiting 10 school districts.

Now, there is uncertainty over whether it can continue at its current scale, which could further exacerbate the nationwide teacher shortage.

“It’s going to drastically understaff our schools,” Burt said, noting that many RPS schools are already facing challenges in maintaining full teaching staffs.

Around the same time this news came out, RPS rolled out a $7,500 bonus for teachers who sign up to work in schools experiencing teacher shortages before June 1.

However, the majority of Richmond’s public schools, including middle and high schools, remain on the list of schools with staffing gaps. The RTR program’s founder has urged supporters to take action by contacting state and federal representatives.