The Teacher Shortage Crisis in NC

How School Districts Deal with Recruiting Challenges

Staffing shortages remain a problem for school districts across North Carolina. Many teachers have left the classroom due to factors such as pay, pressure and the pandemic, leaving some school districts scrambling to fill vacancies.?

Several weeks into the 2021–22 school year, a report by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction shows there was a 58% increase in vacant teaching positions across public schools in North Carolina. The report also found that the largest number of vacancies was in elementary schools.?

Shortages from a Principal’s Perspective?

Walking the halls of Eno Valley Elementary School in Durham, Principal Jason Jowers often thinks about what would have happened had he taken his parents’ advice not to go into education.?

“They wanted me to go into tech or something along those lines,” said Jowers.?

But in high school, Jowers realized education was his passion, and he earned a scholarship with the North Carolina Teaching Fellows.?

“I knew this was my calling,” said Jowers. “And so at that point, I started setting goals moving forward as it pertains to education.”?

Jowers taught high school for several years before becoming an administrator. He says in his 13 years of education, recruiting and retaining teachers have always been a challenge. But ever since the pandemic, it’s become even more difficult.?

“COVID-19 allowed people an opportunity to reflect on their life, their quality of living and spending more time with family,” said Jowers. “If you are going to go into education and be good at it, it’s a sacrifice.”?

Nationwide, there are about 567,000 fewer educators in public schools today than there were pre-pandemic, according to numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.?

Low pay, burnout from the pandemic and opportunities within other industries are just a few reasons cited by educators leaving the profession.?

“I think we’re finally starting to have real conversations about the challenges facing education, particularly as it pertains to the financial incentives that we’re offering teachers,” said Jowers. “I know that's a tough conversation to have, but in this climate, you have to have it.”?

For the 2022–23 school year, the starting pay in North Carolina for a first-year teacher with a bachelor’s degree is $37,000. Some school districts choose to use local funds to supplement the state base pay.?

Jowers says while principals have limited control over salaries, they can help create a school culture where teachers feel valued and appreciated.?

He’s also implemented several creative recruiting methods, including focusing on international recruiting and reaching out to some of the high schoolers he taught who are now graduating or recently graduated.?

“A lot of those kids I remember,” said Jowers. “I remember how intelligent they were and what type of kid they were. So when I find the best and the brightest that are still young and trying to figure out life, why not give them an opportunity? See how they like it? And many of them get into it and it gives them a ‘Why.’ It gives them a reason. It reinvigorates them to life.”?

Jowers adds that some students just need a little push to discover their passion. Because for him, his push was earning the Teaching Fellows scholarship. If it weren’t for that, he says he probably wouldn’t be working in education.?

“I think it’s important to re-create some of those initiatives to at least make education an option,” said Jowers. “I think for a lot of people right now, it’s not even an option. And if it’s not even an option, it’s not being talked about, and it’s not being considered.”?

A Teacher Pipeline Program in Edgecombe County?

Jacqueline Dickens is a first-year teacher at Martin Millennium Academy in Edgecombe County, but it already feels like home. She grew up attending school in this district.?

“There’s a big impact that I believe you can make when you are from the place that you serve,” said Dickens.?

Dickens is one of the first graduates of the Scholar Teachers program in Edgecombe County. The program was implemented after district leaders noticed that about one in five teachers left the district each year from 2006 to 2018.?

School officials say there are a lot of reasons for high teacher-turnover rates in rural, high-poverty counties, including salary and the aging teacher population. The Scholar Teachers program, a “Grow Your Own” teacher initiative, was designed to solve the problem by recruiting from within.?

“‘Grow Your Own’ means a lot of different things in different contexts,” said Matt Bristow-Smith, the principal at Edgecombe Early College High School. “What it means here in our county is tapping into our high school. Students who might have an interest in becoming teachers and exposing them to the profession before they go off to a four-year school.”?

The Scholar Teachers program is based at Edgecombe Early College High School on the Edgecombe Community College campus. High school students like Josh Webb learn about lesson-planning and other skills for becoming an effective teacher. The students also spend 200 hours in the classroom shadowing master teachers as part of an internship.?

“When I joined the Scholar Teachers program, everything clicked,” said Webb. “Things started falling into place. I started realizing I loved kids, and I loved the whole art of teaching.”?

Webb was also motivated to become a teacher to help create a more diverse classroom.?

“I didn’t have my first Black male teacher until seventh grade, and I want to be that person,” said Webb. “I want students to come into my classroom and say, ‘Man, that guy looks like me.’ Because while that might not push them to teaching, it might push them to pursue their other goals.”?

As part of the Scholar Teachers program, students receive a $30,000 scholarship to attend the college of their choice, under the condition that they sign a promissory agreement to come back and teach in Edgecombe County.?

Scholar teachers like Jacqueline Dickens commit to teaching for three years in the county after college. School officials say donations fund the college scholarships.?

“One of the amazing things about this program is that the scholarships are funded by people who care about the community,” said Bristow-Smith. “We have had $5 donations to the program. We’ve had $10,000 donations to the program.”?

The Scholar Teachers program has only been around for five years, so it is still too early to measure its success. The number of teachers they are able to retain from the program will be one of the metrics. Organizers hope it will become a model for other school districts across the state and beyond.?

Organizers say the ability to recruit from within creates a workforce that truly understands the challenges of teaching in a rural, high-poverty county like Edgecombe County.?

“It’s like we’re working together to make a positive impact for all of these kids,” said Dickens.?

Dickens says becoming a scholar teacher was the best decision she has ever made. A true home-grown success story.?

A Teacher Finds a Home Despite a High Cost of Living

In many communities across the state, living on a teacher’s salary can be difficult as housing costs continue to rise. But there is a growing number of communities trying to help recruit and retain teachers by offering affordable housing.?

Canaan Frisby, a physical education teacher at Johnston Elementary School in Asheville, grew up in a family of teachers.?

Frisby began as an intern in the Buncombe County School District, and when he finished, he was able to get a job. His only question was where to find an apartment.?

“People definitely want to move to Asheville. People are moving to Asheville all the time,” said Frisby. “But for teachers moving to Asheville, they have to find a place to live.”?

Angela Trantham became the principal at Johnston Elementary School in July of 2022. She says her first order of business was to hire 60% of the school’s staff who had either retired or moved on.?

“Asheville has a very high cost of living, and we know that teacher salaries do not match that,” said Trantham. “So having somewhere that teachers can live that’s affordable is essential in order for us to maintain that continuity and support for our students.”?

One solution was to offer affordable housing with the Williams-Baldwin Teacher Campus, which opened in 2017. The waiting list is long, and once an apartment is vacated, it’s filled almost immediately.?

“These apartments average around $950 a month for a one bedroom and about $1400 a month for a two bedroom,” said former Buncombe County School Superintendent Tony Baldwin. “This is affordable housing for a priority group of professionals for our community.”?

Pat Bryant, a former member of the Buncombe County Board of Education, says the program is a partnership between the Buncombe County School District and the State Employees Credit Union (SECU), which provided the loan through Eblen Charities.?

“This was not something that we decided in a school board meeting to set out to do,” said Bryant, who also sits on the board of directors for Eblen Charities. “It was brought to our attention, and then we said, ‘Okay, let’s figure it out. How can we make this happen?’ Because it’s a win-win for so many people. And we worked through the process together, holding a lot of hands with a lot of different groups and got it done.”?

For Frisby, he says his situation is manageable thanks to the teacher campus. However, he’s well aware that colleagues around the state are struggling.?

“I think [the rising cost of housing] impacts teacher turnover, and I think that impacts teacher morale,” said Frisby. “If they are struggling to make ends meet and pay the bills, that doesn’t give them a reason to stay in the profession.”?

The housing development is about halfway through its 15-year $2.5 million loan. Local leaders hope that their efforts will make Asheville a better place to live, not just for teachers, but their students as well.??

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David Hurst is a producer and reporter for ncIMPACT , a multiplatform series produced by PBS North Carolina in association with the UNC School of Government .

Hosted by UNC Professor Anita Brown-Graham, season five of ncIMPACT visits communities, organizations and businesses across North Carolina that are developing creative solutions to critical issues like health care, education, employment, the economy and the environment. Watch Fridays at 7:30 on PBS NC and stream anytime with the PBS App.?

PBS North Carolina provides quality content and services to engage communities, enhance education, enrich lives and tell the stories of North Carolinians.??