The turnover rate for teachers in elementary and secondary schools is at an all-time high in North Carolina, leading some educators to speculate on what changes need to be made to rectify the situation.
The high turnover rate is especially apparent with teachers who have little or no teaching experience. A recent report by the Professional Practices Commission to the State Board of Education showed that almost 20 percent of all first-year teachers leave the teaching profession. Two primary reasons for the high attrition rate are a lack of compensation and inadequate training, according to the report.
"Our pay is not the greatest. The work and the time required for teaching does not equal the money," said Vandi Kelley, coordinator of certified personnel for elementary schools in Durham County. Kelley is in charge of collecting and distributing the applications of prospective teachers to elementary schools throughout Durham.
Carol Meyer, a first-year chemistry teacher at Jordan High School in Durham, agreed that salary is a concern, but added that the long hours that teaching requires also may contribute to the high burn-out rate among novice teachers.
Currently, teachers with a bachelor's degree and zero to three years teaching experience earn an average of $21,352.50, while teachers with a master's degree earn $22,692.50. In addition to the base salary provided by the state, each county also offers a percentage of the base salary as a supplementary wage. Durham offers a 10 percent supplement while other less wealthy counties can only afford a 4 to 5 percent supplement.
Ernest Thompson, an assistant superintendent in the Granville school district, said that because the low-income districts lack adequate financial resources, they cannot compete with the wealthier districts such as Wake, Orange and Durham counties which offer higher supplements. In an effort to correct this disadvantage, the Professional Practices Committee has recommended that the state "should immediately provide a supplement for teachers in low wealth districts equal to the state average and eventually provide a supplement in excess of the state average."
In addition to addressing the problem of inadequate financial compensation, the report suggested that improvements be made regarding the preparation of first-year teachers.
"We need to adequately prepare students for teacher education programs. Student teaching is not enough," said Kenneth Harris, chair emeritus of the State Board of Education. He further emphasized that new teachers must understand the challenges and assignments of being a full-time teacher.
Southern High School principal Ron Gilliard said that prospective teachers are often not aware of the demands of the teaching profession. "Students should have longer teaching internships before they apply for a license to be hired as teachers," Gilliard said. "They come in and do not realize that teaching is not just a seven-to-three job."
A program called the North Carolina Initial Licensure Program currently assists new teachers during their transition period from assistant to full-time teacher. During their first two years of teaching, they are assigned a mentor who helps them with lesson planning and classroom management. The Professional Practices Commission reported, however, that this program does not always work. For example, it does not cover lateral entry teachers who do not have a teaching degree, but are hired because of their adequate qualifications in a specific field of study.
Kenneth Harris said that the State Board of Education is currently working on improving North Carolina's mentoring program by making it a fully funded state program. As of now, part of the program is funded by the state, and the rest is funded by the respective school district. This change would place the low-income districts on a level playing field with the wealthier ones.
Harris added that the State Board of Education is working hard to protect and support entry-level teachers. He said that an effort is being made to halt practices of assigning beginning teachers more difficult students than their veteran colleagues. New teachers often become overwhelmed by excessive assignments at the beginning of their careers, and as a result they decide to leave the profession, he said.
In addition to the continuing problems with inadequate training and compensation, local factors often play a role in the teaching turnover rate.
"Durham is a transient area. People continuously come in and go out," Kelley said.
Kelley attributed this movement to teachers who have spouses that attend graduate school or work in the Triangle area and move when their spouses graduate or transfer to another city. Furthermore, many beginning teachers who worked in the private sector the summer before their first year teaching ultimately return to these jobs because the pay is better and because it is a year-round job, she said.
The effects of such a high attrition rate in the teaching profession are varied. Despite the high turnover rate, it is relatively easy to hire new teachers because there are currently twice as many licensed teachers in North Carolina as there are positions.
"There is a lot of interest in our school district. We have a large applicant pool of really experienced teachers," said Tom Crabtree, coordinator of certified personnel for secondary schools in the Durham school district.
There is concern by some school principals, however, about the inconsistency of school programs.
"The teacher is the classroom. When you start, begin, start, begin, you begin to lose momentum in your curriculum," Gilliard said. He added that students find it comforting when they have the same teacher their older siblings have had.
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