The recent Durham Public Schools pay dispute and its fallout has not only impacted employees of the school district, but also Duke students hoping to become teachers.
Duke students pursuing their North Carolina teaching licenses through Duke’s Elementary Teacher Preparation Program or Secondary Teacher Preparation Program got a front-row seat to the inner workings of local government and collective organizing, and many came away with further insights into the current tumultuous state of teaching.
“It's been really interesting student-teaching during this time because you get to really see [that] this is the reality of education,” said senior Jessica On, who is completing her semester student-teaching at E.K. Powe Elementary School. “It's not always super clean — it gets messy sometimes.”
DPS experienced numerous closures at the beginning of the semester as teachers and other staff staged walk-outs and held demonstrations to protest changes to the pay model. On Jan. 12, the district had announced that they would revoke pay accidental raises that were given to over 1,300 classified staff, which led to the protests.
On, a public policy major, also spoke about how the recent upheaval in the district taught her lessons about the challenges she might face in the workforce and the importance of being adaptive.
“It's taught me a lot about ... getting people together around a certain cause whether it affects you or not,” she said. “It showed me a lot about the Durham community in general, seeing how parents are supporting and seeing how people are coming together.”
Not all students viewed the recent events in such an optimistic light. Senior and Durham native Miranda Straubel felt the Board of Education’s lack of transparency in recent months created distrust among current and prospective staff, including herself.
“It's hard to look at that and say, ‘That seems like a well-run school district, that seems like somewhere where I would be treated super well as an employee,’” Straubel said.
Straubel, who hopes to become a high school English teacher, completed the requirements to receive her teaching license last semester and is currently enrolled in a service-learning course. She volunteers at Lakewood Elementary on a weekly basis.
At Lakewood, one of the tasks that Straubel and other Duke service-learning students help with is making sure students sort their lunch waste into trash, recycling and compost.
Straubel said that while composting and the subsequent decrease in landfill waste the school produces is a good thing, the burden has largely fallen on the custodial staff to make sure the students are disposing of their trash in the correct bins — without any extra compensation for the additional labor.
Straubel, who is also a substitute teacher for DPS, also spoke about the high number of teacher vacancies across the county.
In October 2023, Durham Public Schools had 87 open positions, but that number may soon rise in light of the recent staff salary controversy. Michelle Hayes, DPS executive director of talent acquisition and employee recognition, said in August 2023 that the district was planning to hire certified substitute teachers to meet the ongoing demand.
Junior Samantha Bernier, who is part of the Secondary Teacher Preparation Program, is currently completing her teacher observation semester before doing student teaching next semester at Hillside High School. She noted that the recent disruption has interfered with her progress in the program, with school closures leading to limited hours.
“It’s been getting canceled, so I’m kind of a week or two behind,” Bernier said. “... [The teachers] are trying to figure out how to make up for those lost days without getting behind track.”
Still, Bernier remains unswayed and is continuing to pursue her certification.
“I still want to be an educator,” Bernier said.
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Karen Xu is a Trinity junior and a photography editor of The Chronicle's 120th volume.