Education Studies Warn Of School Enrollment Flood Thinning’ Teacher Ranks Seen As Pressing1 Problem Despite an unprecedented up surge in public school enrollments, Virginia counties including those in this area, are losing teachers faster than qualified replacements can be found That informal!- n is gleaned 'rom studies recently published by •he Researc.i Service of the Vir ginia Education Association Enrollment increases, stem ming from the stepped up birth ■ate of the war years and since vill reach a peak in ten years hen it is estimat'd bv Robert F Williams, executive director of Uie VEA that 225.000 additional children will be enrolled in Vir ■ insa's oublie schools. Eeavht" Profession Mr. Williams cites the both rate of two years covering a ten vear span to illustrate his point. TTe list; 80.771 In o births in Vir ginia during 1951. the largest number in her history, as com pared with 50,658 in 1940. lie estimates that teachers arc leaving Virginia schools at a rate of 1.500 annually, while colleges are providing about 1 ooo yearly at present. This number is only suf ficient. Mr Williams belieies. to care for the increased numbers of teachers needed by increased en rollments. with the consequent thinning of teacher ranks ronsti tuting one of Virginia's most pressing problems laical Effect County-by-county figures com titled bv the YEA show that fo* the 1952-53 session Amelin. Buck ingham. Charlotte. Cumberland. P.'whatan and Prince Edward counties had 71 teachers who did not return to their positions Of that number. 43 left the teaching profession permanently, while the remainder moved about, pre sumably to higher paying school systems, or for more convenient • locations. For the 1953-54 term, it is esti mated the same counties will re quire 72 new teachers, some re quiring as high as one - fourth more as presently teaching The research figures klso show these statistics: Ten per cent of Virginia's teachers in 1952-53 had sub standard certificates

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