Announcing TeachNC: The One-Stop Resource for Becoming a Teacher in North Carolina We are thrilled to share that, for the first time ever, North Carolina has a unified, statewide teacher recruitment initiative that elevates the teaching profession and seeks to fill critical vacancies! At the August 14th meeting of the North Carolina Education Cabinet, education leaders and stakeholders gathered to celebrate the launch of TeachNC. Aligning with BEST NC’s longstanding commitment to improving the educator pipeline, we have collaborated with the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction and TEACH.org to create this statewide teacher recruitment initiative. TeachNC employs both a broad media campaign and a robust web platform to support teacher candidates in their quest to become a teacher in North Carolina. Members of the NC Education Cabinet stand in support of TeachNC. Why TeachNC? Every student deserves a quality education — that’s a given. What you might not know is that teacher quality is the #1 in-school factor for guaranteeing students’ long-term success. Since educators play a crucial role in the lives of our students, TeachNC is designed to inspire teaching candidates to pursue the career and remove barriers that stand in their way. The Audience The TeachNC initiative seeks to provide accurate and compelling information about the teaching profession that will be useful to both potential candidates and the general public. TeachNC targets students who are just beginning to think about their career options all the way to mid-career professionals who may be considering a career change. The Campaign TeachNC’s media campaign, “Teachers Have Better Work Stories,” highlights the ways in which teaching profession is challenging, fulfilling, and constantly evolving. These career qualities are particularly appealing to Millennials and Generation Z as they seek fulfilling professions. TeachNC’s first public service announcement can be viewed below. TeachNC will also be curating Better Work Stories from real North Carolina teachers. To view the stories collected so far, click here. If you are a teacher or know of one who should share their Better Work Story, please share it here. The Website TeachNC.org is an interactive digital recruitment platform that centralizes all of the information and resources needed to become a teacher: Licensure Understanding licensure is the first step to becoming a teacher. TeachNC outlines licensure requirements and pathways for all candidates, from beginning college students to mid-career professionals. Programs To help candidates choose an educator preparation program (EPP) that will qualify them for licensure, TeachNC provides a database of North Carolina’s EPPs, criteria to help candidates compare options, and advisors to provide 1-on-1 support. Affordability To help candidates understand affordability, TeachNC provides a finance guide with best practices, local and national scholarship listings, and cost-saving strategies. TeachNC also offsets candidates application costs through a $100 reimbursement scholarship. Applications Understanding licensure is the first step to becoming a teacher. TeachNC outlines licensure requirements and pathways for all candidates, from beginning college students to mid-career professionals. More to Come, and What YOU Can Do: Over the next months and years, TeachNC will continue to expand its resources with district landing pages and updated information as licensure requirements change. In the meantime, here is what you can do to help: If you know someone who is thinking about becoming a teacher, please share www.TeachNC.org and encourage them to register to get (free) resources. If you are a teacher and want to share your Better Work Story, take just a minute to film with your phone and upload it here. If you have any ideas or questions, reach out to the TeachNC Director, Princess Brown at Princess@TeachNC.org. TeachNC Partners TeachNC Funders
2019 Legislative Gathering
A core principle guiding BEST NC’s work is the idea that well-informed conversations can lead to real, meaningful change in the lives of North Carolina’s students and educators. It’s why we produce Facts & Figures, the most comprehensive guide to education data in the state. It’s why we convene the Education Innovation Lab every year, providing a platform for the thinkers, educators, and policymakers at the forefront of education transformation in North Carolina. And it is exactly why we invited BEST NC members, policymakers, and the NC FIT Leaders to come together at the Raleigh Convention Center for an evening of conversation and learning at our 6th annual Legislative Gathering. In case you missed it, here is a quick recap of the event. First in Flight. First in Freedom. Why shouldn’t North Carolina be First in Teaching, too? This was the question that led over 70 educators from across North Carolina to come together in 2018 to share their stories, experiences, and ideas with the goal of elevating their profession. As you may know by now, this group of dedicated individuals is known as the FIT Leaders. You can learn more about them here. This year’s Legislative Gathering presented an opportunity for conversations between business leaders, policymakers, and FIT Leaders, culminating in the release of the NC First in Teaching Roadmap, which highlights practical and actionable innovations to improve the teaching profession and allow educators to better serve their students. You can download a copy of the FIT Roadmap here. Following greetings from BEST NC Board Member Chuck Purvis, Superintendent Mark Johnson, and Governor Cooper’s Education Policy Advisor Geoff Coltrane, NC Teacher of the Year Freebird McKinney spoke on FIT Leadership and how the educational landscape is already beginning to see the positive effects of this transformational movement. You can find Freebird’s inspiring speech entitled “The Powerful Force of ‘Bridge Builders’ Across North Carolina” and a short video highlighting several FIT Leaders here. Conversations with Policymakers: Representative John Fraley joined FIT Leader and Iredell-Statesville Schools Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources Dr. Alvera Lesane to discuss how strong school leadership influences teacher recruitment and retention. In North Carolina, a lack of strong school leadership and direction is the main reason teachers leave their jobs. Therefore, Strong School Leadership is a key strategy to making North Carolina First in Teaching and is described in the NC FIT Leaders Roadmap. Next, Senator Dan Blue spoke about teacher recruitment with Kimberly Mawhiney, FIT Leader and Science Teacher in Currituck County Schools. Strengthening Teacher Recruitment is another critical strategy detailed in the NC FIT Leaders Roadmap. “My main takeaway from the evening is this: Legislators want to hear from teachers. Senator Blue stated: ‘I am not an expert’. This was a powerful statement that I have also heard from Craig Horn. We, as teachers, are the experts. That means, we need to do what we do best: TEACH! Legislators can only do what they think is best. If we do not raise our voices and let them know what we need, how do they know what is best? I implore all educators to reach out to those that shape our education policy and do what you do best…teach!” Kimberly Mawhiney As an organization – as North Carolinians – we are proud to say that these are the conversations that inspire BEST NC and lay the groundwork for an energized, nation-leading education system powered by passionate, highly-skilled education professionals. Click here to see more photos from the 2019 Legislative Gathering.
Spotlight On: School Support Staff and the Whole Child
Spotlight On: School Support Staff and the Whole Child In 2016, the State Board of Education (SBE) adopted the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child model as a framework for supporting healthy behaviors and academic performance for students. In 2017-2018, there was one school counselor for every 370 students in North Carolina public schools. The American Counseling Association recommends a maximum ratio of one counselor for every 250 students. In 2016-2017, there was one school nurse for every 1,073 students in North Carolina public schools. The National Association of School Nurses recommends a maximum ratio of one school nurse for every 750 students without special health needs.
Spotlight On: Teacher Pay Trends The statewide teacher salary schedule is established in the state budget. The following charts show two major phases in the teacher pay schedules over the last ten years: pay freezes from 2009 to 2014, followed by investments of almost $1 billion from 2014 to 2019.
Spotlight On: Advanced Teaching Roles Initiative
Spotlight On: Advanced Teaching Roles Initiative In 2016, North Carolina created the Advanced Teaching Roles Initiative. This legislation establishes a school leadership re-design model that empowers districts and educators to design new teaching roles that provide advancement opportunities, improved professional development, and greater support for student achievement. Advanced Teaching Roles enables highly-effective teachers to advance their careers, extend their positive impact on student achievement, and increase their compensation. The best part: they get to stay in the classroom! In effective models, developing teachers also benefit by having access to real-time professional development, relieving some of the pressures of principals who are traditionally the primary source of instructional leadership in the school. Today, ten districts are taking part in the Advanced Roles Initiative. Success by Design Program Created in 2013 and inspired by lessons learned from the Opportunity Culture model in Project LIFT schools, Success by Design is an official Advanced Roles program in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS). This approach is being phased in strategically over time. During the 2018-19 school year, Success by Design was implemented in 50 schools. Success by Design advanced roles teachers can earn up to $20,000 on top of their base salary, while increasing their impact on student achievement. Early results from the CMS program suggest that this model helps the district recruit and retain top talent, resulting in significant student achievement gains. During the 2017-18 school year, 58% of Success by Design schools exceeded growth, compared with 27% of all schools statewide. Also, a recent study published by the CALDER Center finds that students’ academic gains increased when taught by advanced roles teachers, with significant achievement gains in math. For more information visit www.BEST-NC.org/advancedroles.
Spotlight On: North Carolina’s Allotment Approach and How Teacher Sorting Affects Funding Fairness
Spotlight On: North Carolina’s Allotment Approach and How Teacher Sorting Affects Funding Fairness In North Carolina, the state allots teaching positions to each school district based on the number of students in each grade, according to specific ratios set by the General Assembly. The classroom teacher allotment is by far the largest single state allotment: salary and benefits for teaching positions represent approximately 55% of total state support for education. What is unique about this approach is that the largest state education resource allocation is made in the form of positions, not dollars. This position-based allotment model was intended to give districts and principals more hiring flexibility, allowing them to have a ‘budget blind’ hiring process. In other words, a school or district can hire any qualified candidate, regardless of where he or she falls on the state salary schedule. While well-intended, a recent NC Program Evaluation Division (PED) study found that “the structure of the [position] allotment exacerbates” a phenomenon called “Teacher Sorting.” Teacher sorting occurs when experienced, highly qualified teachers become concentrated in affluent schools. Several studies have found that teacher sorting has negative effects on students because it limits access to highly effective educators. The PED analysis shows that North Carolina’s position allotment structure exacerbates this phenomenon and deprives high-poverty schools and systems from important funding resources. The financial impact of teacher sorting can be significant and has its greatest negative impact on low-wealth schools and districts. The figure below shows the disparity between the districts with the highest and lowest average teacher compensation. In this scenario, District B receives $649 less funding per student because their average teacher has less experience and is not Board Certified. If districts A and B each have 10,000 students, the funding differences between the districts is $6,490,000.
NC First in Teaching Roadmap
First in Freedom. First in Flight. Why shouldn’t North Carolina be First in Teaching, too? In 2018, more than 70 current and former educators from across North Carolina came together, sharing their stories, experiences, and ideas with the goal of elevating their profession. This group is known as the FIT Leaders. You can learn more about them here. Drawing from their diverse backgrounds and perspectives, they identified the qualities that embody what it means to be treated as a highly-skilled professional. The group also identified critical barriers that are preventing North Carolina from being First in Teaching (FIT). The culmination of their work, thus far, is the NC First in Teaching Roadmap, which highlights practical, actionable innovations to improve the teaching experience and allow educators to better serve their students. To learn more, download a copy of the FIT Roadmap and check out EdNC’s coverage of FIT Leader and Burroughs Wellcome Fund 2018 NC Teacher of the Year, Freebird McKinney!