North Carolina Launches New Teacher Recruitment Initiative With TeachNC | Eastern North Carolina Now

Publisher's note: This post appears here courtesy of the Carolina Journal, and written by AUTHORNAME.

Members of the Education Cabinet listen as State Superintendent Mark Johnson explains how TeachNC will draw more people to teaching. | Photo: Lindsay Marchello/Carolina Journal

    North Carolina has a new program to attract teachers.

    TeachNC officially launched during an Education Cabinet meeting attended by myriad state and education officials.

    The initiative aims to address critical teaching vacancies by boosting teacher recruitment and retention efforts through a statewide media campaign and a new website. It's the result of a partnership among the Department of Public Instruction, nonprofit Best NC, and Teach.org, a nonprofit teacher recruitment organization. Grants from The Belk Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Coastal Credit Union, IBM, the John M Belk Endowment, and Microsoft help support TeachNC.

    "As business leaders, we know that the talent in our organization is key to our success. The same is true for education in North Carolina; our teachers and other educators need to be recruited and valued like other high-skill professionals," Walter McDowell, Best NC's board chair, said.

    Princess Brown, communications and engagement coordinator with Best NC, said in the meeting Wednesday, Aug. 14, that several factors contributed to the initiative. Critical vacancies in hard-to-staff schools and subjects, misperceptions of the teaching profession, and fragmented resources on licensure, educator preparation, and job openings all add to the need to recruit more teachers.

    Gov. Roy Cooper, who chaired the Education Cabinet meeting, said people need only talk to superintendents across the state to realize teacher vacancies are a critical issue.

    "They don't have enough teachers, and some teachers are substitutes for an entire year," Cooper said. "We have to attack this problem."

    TeachNC will target middle school and high school students, as well as college students looking to switch majors and mid-career adults considering a new profession. The website, TeachNC.org, will feature information on the licensing process, educator preparation programs, application checklists, and financial aid options.

    More than 30 of the state's 54 public and private educator preparation programs have joined TeachNC so far. The website will continue to be updated with more information and tools for teacher candidates to explore and review.

    State Superintendent Mark Johnson said encouraging people to join the teaching profession is more than just talking about salary and benefits. It's about explaining why teaching is a fulfilling career.

    Johnson pointed to recent teacher raises, efforts to reduce testing, and the implementation of advanced teaching roles as ways North Carolina is working to make teaching a rewarding profession.

    "Being a teacher allows you to have a fruitful and fulfilling career anywhere in North Carolina - your hometown, a big city, the mountains, or the coast," Johnson said. "We have over 2,500 public schools in North Carolina's 100 counties, and now we have an easy-to-use platform to learn about becoming a teacher."

    TeachNC will work with local TV and radio stations to broadcast public service announcements to promote the initiative. The public media campaign is called "Teachers Have Better Work Stories" and will feature dramatized stories of teachers' experiences.

    Teacher ambassadors, such as Wake County Public Schools Teacher of the Year Matt Scialdone, will help promote the recruitment program and talk with people interested in becoming a teacher. Scialdone said he has already talked with several interested people - even before the official launch of TeachNC - about joining the teaching profession in North Carolina.

    "I really truly believe the TeachNC initiative is going to bring more people into our classrooms and into a career that is not just my passion it is my home," Scialdone said.
Go Back


Leave a Guest Comment

Your Name or Alias
Your Email Address ( your email address will not be published)
Enter Your Comment ( no code or urls allowed, text only please )




Lt. Governor Forest Urges Gov. Cooper to Sign Into Law the Small Business Healthcare Act (s86) Carolina Journal, Editorials, Op-Ed & Politics Did You Know? Democrats Dominate Professorships


HbAD0

Latest Op-Ed & Politics

President Joe Biden took direct aim at Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas during a recent interview, referring to him simply as “the guy who likes to spend a lot of time on yachts.”
The best way the county and city can help hold down inflation is to resist all tax increases
Pope Francis lambasted leftist gender ideology during an address this week, warning that it presented an extreme danger to mankind.
amnesty would just encourage more illegal aliens to storm our borders
The Christmas candy was barely off the shelves when the Valentine’s candy appeared. Red and pink hearts with caramel and nut-filled chocolate goodness caught our eye. We are reminded of how we love love. Young love, especially.

HbAD1

far left sugar daddy has also funded anti-Israel groups and politicians in US
Be careful what you wish for, you may get it
America needs to wake up and get its priorities right
Former President Donald Trump suggested this week that if he becomes president again, he might allow Prince Harry to be deported.
It's a New Year, which means it's time to make resolutions — even for prominent evangelical leaders. The Babylon Bee asked the following well-known figures in the faith what they hope to accomplish in 2024:
Vice President Kamala Harris will visit a Minnesota Planned Parenthood clinic, reportedly the first time a president or vice president has visited an abortion facility.

HbAD2

An eight-mile stretch of the Blue Ridge Parkway near Asheville has been temporarily closed due to a string of “human and bear interactions,” the National Parks Service announced.

HbAD3

 
Back to Top