Combined classrooms and virtual school: How NC schools are navigating another year of teacher shortages
A growing teacher shortage that many education experts believe has been exacerbated by pandemic learning has left central North Carolina districts starting the new school year with nearly 1,000 vacancies.
WRAL Investigates reached out to 20 school districts to learn the number of vacancies and the creative approaches school systems are taking to keep classrooms staffed.
Data from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) shows that 7,736 teachers quit education during the 2020-2021 school year, the latest year for which data is available. That equates to roughly 8% of the state’s teacher workforce. In the same year, NCDPI reported 3,748 people completed one of the state’s teacher preparation programs.
“It hasn’t gotten any better,” said Art Rouse, interim dean of East Carolina University’s School of Education. “The inquiries that I'm getting [from school districts] are across the board: grade level, subject, content…we need teachers.”
Rouse said ECU’s undergraduate enrollment for teaching degrees has increased in the last year, but the numbers are still below just a handful of years ago.
WRAL Investigates found 927 openings in 14 school systems across central North Carolina. Some of the openings represent other certified positions, including psychologists, counselors and librarians.
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Chatham County Schools assistant superintendent for human resources Kelly Batten said it can be a challenge to staff some of the high-needs positions. It's a trend Batten said the district has seen continue.
“In North Carolina, there’s been changes in access and availability to School of Education programs," Batten said. "So, the number coming out of the pipeline on a traditional format has never met the demand when we think about North Carolina as a growing state as far as population.”
The Chatham County School Board approved funding last year for a new incentive program to help recruit and retain teachers.
The 4Rs program includes a $3,750 retention bonus for existing teachers, $3,500 recruitment bonus for new teachers, a $1,000 referral bonus and more frequent recognition for the district’s staff.
Nearly 90% of teachers in Chatham County stayed in their positions from last year. The district staffed up to 95% by the start of this school year, but there are still immediate openings for 35 teaching positions.
Many districts said they are utilizing international teachers, retirees and lateral entry teachers to fill the gap. Districts have also often used existing teachers to cover empty classrooms during plan periods. Rouse said he’s heard of some schools using one teacher to cover two classes simultaneously, such as by combining a kindergarten and first grade classroom and using one teacher and a teaching assistant to staff it.
International teachers have more than quadrupled in the state in the past decade to more than 2,100 teachers. North Carolina spent $121.4 million this year on teachers coming from abroad—six times what it did a decade ago. During that time, international teachers have gone from one in 200 North Carolina teachers to one in 50.
Lateral entry — now known as a residency license — gives a pathway to teacher licensure for aspiring teachers who have a bachelor’s degree in an area of study outside of education. The number of those teachers is nearly double what it was last year, according to a statewide survey by the North Carolina School Superintendents Association. Last August, 98 of 115 responding districts reported hiring 1,942 “residency” teachers. This August, those same school districts reported hiring 3,618.
Shane Henderson earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology in 2017 and worked his way up to a leadership position at a Boys and Girls Club after graduation. He then took a job as an instructional assistant at Pittsboro Elementary School.
Henderson started teaching first grade while completing the Residency License program at ECU. He is now in his fourth year of leading his own classroom at Pittsboro Elementary.
“You have qualified people out there who are qualified for the position, but they are just lacking the education background,” Henderson said. “I want to be that role model for kids, because there are so many kids who need that positive [and] consistent influence in their life.”
Person County Schools has outsourced six of its teacher openings to Elevate K-12, a Chicago-based company that conducts virtual learning that students attend while in the school building.
The district is spending $376,200 on six teachers, including a Spanish, English, social students and science teacher at Person High School, an English and language arts teacher at Northern Middle School and a math teacher at Person Early College for Innovation & Leadership.
Person County Schools also hired eight classroom coordinators to assist students while they are taught virtually, according to a district spokesperson.
Wilson County Schools is targeting its high school seniors interested in pursuing education in college by offering a $28,000 scholarship in exchange for four years of employment with the district after graduation.
Rouse, the ECU interim dean, said better pay and enhanced professional development opportunities could keep more teachers in the classroom. He believes the historical recruitment issue paired with the newer retention issue has been made worse by the pandemic.
“A lot of teachers were spending an enormous amount of time ensuring that students were receiving the appropriate instruction and the work hours, I think, significantly increased,” Rouse said.
While many teachers have left and even more are considering career changes, Henderson said his passion for education is still burning despite the challenges that exist in the classroom coming out of the pandemic.
“Being that champion in a kid’s life makes a world of a difference and that’s why I am here,” Henderson said.
