Emma Stephens and Andrea Wirt want to use their new roles as teachers to support Williamsburg-James City County students in their educational journeys.

“Just finding the support that really meet their needs,” said Wirt, a new special education inclusion teacher at Lafayette High School. “Just finding out what resonates with them the most, what their personalities are.”

Stephens and Wirt are two of the 137 new teachers joining the joint school system for its 2025-26 school year. Starting Monday, they will be among the 1,013 teachers working to help the division’s 11,700 pre-K-12 students learn and grow.

Stephens, 22, will be teaching third grade at Clara Byrd Baker Elementary — the same school where she completed her student teaching. She said coming back to the school as a first-year te

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