The North Carolina Education Innovation Lab

The North Carolina Education Innovation Lab 2020 | Teacher Recruitment in North Carolina

Teacher Recruitment in North Carolina

Research has consistently found that of all in-school factors, teachers have, by far, the greatest impact on student success. For many years, North Carolina has had a number of robust teacher recruitment efforts underway but has lacked a comprehensive plan for next steps to ensure that we attract high-quality teaching candidates for our state’s hardest-to-staff subject areas and schools. As a result, for decades we have struggled with persistent teaching vacancies in subject areas like math, science, and Special Education, and in our rural and higher poverty schools. These vacancies and students’ inequitable access to effective teachers across the state led us to dedicate this year’s Innovation Lab to the critical topic of teacher recruitment.
VIEW THE AGENDA
MEET THE PLANNING TEAM

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Jessica Charles

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Jessica Charles

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Proin efficitur ornare nunc, et suscipit risus malesuada faucibus. Sed quis justo quis sapien vehicula pretium.

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Meet the planning Team

The North Carolina Education Innovation Lab represents the collected time, effort, and perspectives of professionals from across North Carolina’s education, workforce, legislative, and business communities.

AGENDA

9:00 am     Welcome & Opening Remarks

Walter McDowell   |   Board Chair, BEST NC

 

9:05 am     A Decade of Innovation, A Lifetime of Impact: The Educator Innovation Plan

Brenda Berg   |   President & CEO, BEST NC

 

9:25 am     EdTalks: The Educator Innovation Plan

 

Advanced Teaching Roles

Dr. Tom Tomberlin   |   Senior Director of the Office of Educator Preparation and Licensure, NC DPI

The New North Carolina Principal Fellows Program

Dr. Lauren Lampron   |   Director, The North Carolina Principal Fellows Program

TeachNC

Gabrielle Barnes   |   Director of Regional Initiatives and Programs, Teach.org

 

10:30 am     Networking Break

 

10:45 am     Armchair Chats

 

Principal Pay: A Professional Approach

Dr. Kelly Anne Mudd   |   Principal, Martin Millennium Academy, Tarboro, NC, Edgecombe County Public Schools

Teacher Pay: A Smart Investment in Student Achievement

Leah Carper   |   Director of Stakeholder Engagement, Guilford County Schools; 2022 North Carolina State Teacher of the Year

Moderator:

Maureen Stover   |   Vice President of Research & Engagement, BEST NC

 

11:25 pm     Next Steps: The Future of Educator Innovation

 

Apprenticeship: An Innovative Approach to Teacher Training and Employment

David Donaldson   |   Founder and Managing Partner, National Center for Grow Your Own

The Next Innovation: Teacher Apprenticeship in North Carolina

Brenda Berg   |   BEST NC

Dr. Felicia Brown  |   Director of Human Resources, Wayne County Public Schools

David Donaldson  |   National Center for Grow Your Own

John Loyack  |   Vice President of Economic Development, North Carolina Community College System

 

12:15 pm     Networking Lunch

 

1:00 pm     Breakouts: The Innovation Roadmap (Attendees Will Choose One Topic)

 

EBC 7: Filling Vacancies Through Apprenticeship

Jennifer Schiess    |     Senior Partner and Policy and Evaluation Practice Leader, Bellwether Education Partners

EBC 8: Accelerating Teacher Pay Through Teacher Effectiveness

Leah Carper     |     Guilford County Schools

Eugenia Floyd     |    Teacher, Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools

EBC 9: Pipeline to the Principalship

Dr. Lauren Lampron     |     President, SparkNC

Dr. Kelly Anne Mudd     |     NC DPI

Leah Sutton     |    Director of Advanced Teaching Roles, NC DPI

 

2:15 pm     Policymaker Perspective

Representative David Willis   |   N.C. House 68; Chair, Education Appropriations & K-12 Committees

 

2:55 pm     Closing Remarks

Brenda Berg   |   BEST NC

  • orem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
  • Integer lobortis libero sed metus imperdiet, eget dignissim odio dictum.
  • Fusce vitae risus volutpat, finibus velit nec, ultrices odio.
  • Nullam condimentum ex in felis iaculis, et molestie ex dignissim.
  • Etiam rutrum velit eu odio dapibus tristique.
  • Curabitur id sapien tristique, egestas justo non, ultrices nibh.
  • In aliquam nisl lacinia scelerisque elementum.
  • Proin sed turpis sodales, rhoncus purus tincidunt, tristique lorem.
  • Integer auctor felis a malesuada euismod.
  • Phasellus tincidunt justo vel dictum lacinia.
  • Curabitur facilisis libero blandit lobortis tincidunt.
  • Sed dignissim ipsum egestas, convallis dolor vitae, molestie magna.
  • Pellentesque facilisis nulla id sodales scelerisque.
  • Integer faucibus ligula rutrum fringilla porttitor.
  • Phasellus egestas risus sit amet scelerisque imperdiet.
  • Nunc vitae velit eleifend nulla pharetra feugiat feugiat non ligula.
  • Donec posuere odio ut augue elementum, nec iaculis metus egestas.
  • Fusce ac ipsum at enim dignissim congue a bibendum erat.
  • Curabitur eleifend justo quis viverra blandit.
  • Morbi vitae ligula pharetra, interdum nunc sed, convallis neque.

OVERVIEW

Day 1 Sessions: October 12, 2020

The State of Teacher Recruitment in North Carolina with Tom Tomberlin

Presentation Deck

PowerPoint: The Teacher Recruitment Landscape in North Carolina

Presented at the 2020 North Carolina Education Innovation Lab by Dr. Tom Tomberlin, Director, Educator Recruitment and Support, North Carolina Department of Public Instruction
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Learning from Other People-Driven Industries with Carl Nordgren and Mark Tully

 

Speakers

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Gabrielle Barnes

Director of Regional Initiatives and Programs, Teach.org

Gab Barnes is the Director of Regional Initiatives at TEACH—a nonprofit with a mission to end the teacher shortage by elevating the perception of the teaching profession and supporting future educators on their path to licensure. Prior to this role, Gab was the Senior Regional Program Manager of TeachNC where she worked closely with North Carolina teacher prep programs, school districts, and community organizations to support teacher recruitment. Prior to her time at TEACH, Gab had 10+ year career in college access with a focus on supporting first-generation college students. With a passion for education equity and a knack for building connections and creating capacity, Gab is known for bringing people together to create impactful programs that ensure everyone has access to opportunity.

She holds a Master’s of Education in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and a BA in Psychology from NC State University (#GoPack)! Outside of work, you can find her enjoying the outdoors and attending sporting events with her husband and three boys!

Gab Barnes is the Director of Regional Initiatives at TEACH—a nonprofit with a mission to end the teacher shortage by elevating the perception of the teaching profession and supporting future educators on their path to licensure. Prior to this role, Gab was the Senior Regional Program Manager of TeachNC where she worked closely with North Carolina teacher prep programs, school districts, and community organizations to support teacher recruitment. Prior to her time at TEACH, Gab had 10+ year career in college access with a focus on supporting first-generation college students. With a passion for education equity and a knack for building connections and creating capacity, Gab is known for bringing people together to create impactful programs that ensure everyone has access to opportunity. She holds a Master’s of Education in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and a BA in Psychology from NC State University (#GoPack)! Outside of work, you can find her enjoying the outdoors and attending sporting events with her husband and three boys!

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Photo by Raleigh Portrait Photographer Christer Berg

BRENDA BERG

President & CEO

Brenda is the President & CEO of BEST NC (Business for Educational Success and Transformation in North Carolina), a nonprofit, nonpartisan coalition of 100 business leaders with a focus on making education in North Carolina the best in the nation. Through policy and advocacy, BEST NC strives to ensure that every student in North Carolina will graduate with the knowledge, skills and behaviors to succeed in a competitive global economy.

With over thirty years of experience as a business owner, public policy professional, and education advocate, Brenda leads the overall BEST NC vision, strategy, and operations while leveraging her expertise to be the business-to-education bridge in BEST NC’s work to transform education in North Carolina. In 2002, she founded Scandinavian Child, a baby products manufacturing and importing business. Prior to founding her business, she had almost ten years of public policy experience in both education and transportation policy, research, and programs.

Brenda’s passion for education stems from her own experience as a first-generation college graduate. With two children who attended North Carolina public schools, she is driven by the belief that every child should have access to a great education.

Brenda has been recognized with the “40 Under 40” and “Women in Business” awards from the Triangle Business Journal, as well as the Stanley Frank Class Award from Leadership North Carolina. She is also on the adjunct faculty at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a regular guest lecturer at Duke University and NC State University. She also serves on various boards and education organizations, including the NC Principal Fellows Commission, Teaching Fellows Advisory Board, myFutureNC Advisory Board, and the NC Community College Foundation Board. Brenda has a BA in economics and a master’s degree in public policy, both from Georgetown University.

Brenda is the President & CEO of BEST NC (Business for Educational Success and Transformation in North Carolina), a nonprofit, nonpartisan coalition of 100 business leaders with a focus on making education in North Carolina the best in the nation. Through policy and advocacy, BEST NC strives to ensure that every student in North Carolina will graduate with the knowledge, skills and behaviors to succeed in a competitive global economy. With over thirty years of experience as a business owner, public policy professional, and education advocate, Brenda leads the overall BEST NC vision, strategy, and operations while leveraging her expertise to be the business-to-education bridge in BEST NC’s work to transform education in North Carolina. In 2002, she founded Scandinavian Child, a baby products manufacturing and importing business. Prior to founding her business, she had almost ten years of public policy experience in both education and transportation policy, research, and programs. Brenda’s passion for education stems from her own experience as a first-generation college graduate. With two children who attended North Carolina public schools, she is driven by the belief that every child should have access to a great education. Brenda has been recognized with the “40 Under 40” and “Women in Business” awards from the Triangle Business Journal, as well as the Stanley Frank Class Award from Leadership North Carolina. She is also on the adjunct faculty at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a regular guest lecturer at Duke University and NC State University. She also serves on various boards and education organizations, including the NC Principal Fellows Commission, Teaching Fellows Advisory Board, myFutureNC Advisory Board, and the NC Community College Foundation Board. Brenda has a BA in economics and a master’s degree in public policy, both from Georgetown University.

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Related Resources & Programs

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Select one of the options below to learn more about that resource, program or initiative.

Briefs, Documents, & Programs

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Educator Innovation

Educator Innovation Plan

BEST NC has engaged alongside key education stakeholders to design and implement new and innovative policies, programs, and initiatives that will address the systemic barriers facing North Carolina’s education system, specifically the educator pipeline. BEST NC’s strategic and actionable effort to support systemic transformation is called The Educator Innovation Plan.
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Data, Report

Facts & Figures: Education in North Carolina

This annual guide is designed to give you quick and easy access to key data that will support your work to improve North Carolina’s education system. Each edition of Facts & Figures is developed in partnership with dozens of stakeholders and represents the collected efforts of hundreds of hours of research, reporting, and review.
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Policy Brief

Teacher Apprenticeship in North Carolina: Exploring In-Classroom Preparation for the Next Generation of Teachers (2025)

This policy brief examines the past, present, and possible future of teacher apprenticeship, the benefits and barriers this initiative presents for North Carolina’s current teacher recruitment strategy, and BEST NC's recommendations for future analysis and implementation.
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Data, Report

Teacher Pay in North Carolina: A Smart Investment in Student Achievement (2025 Edition)

The 2025 Edition of Teacher Pay in North Carolina: A Smart Investment in Student Achievement examines how existing teacher pay structures fail to address decades-long shifts in our national workforce and are inadequate for meeting the personal and professional needs of teachers. This updated report provides an expanded set of strategic recommendations to significantly increase and improve the pay structure for teachers, additional data, and updated assets.
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Policy Brief

The New North Carolina Principal Fellows Program: Navigating North Carolina’s Bold School Leadership Strategy (2024)

This report builds upon BEST NC’s 2018 policy brief by examining the latest research and best practices around principal preparation, providing an update on the merged program, and recommending the next steps for expanding the New North Carolina Principal Fellows Program to have a greater positive impact on students across North Carolina.
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Policy Brief

Advanced Teaching Roles in North Carolina: Meaningful Career Opportunities for Teaching Professionals (2022)

This brief examines the state’s Advanced Teaching Roles™(ATR) program, explains what it is and the history of the initiative, summarizes research on its impact, shares best practices for school districts, and provides recommendations for scaling statewide.
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EDUCATION POLICY & LEADERSHIP

Be One of the BEST

North Carolina’s students and educators rely on private citizens and community leaders that actively participate in improving the state’s education system. Business leaders that join BEST NC are investing in the lives of North Carolinians for generations to come.

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