In a promising shift for North Carolina’s education sector, the latest report on the State of the Teaching Profession reveals a decline in teacher attrition rates for the 2023-24 school year. This marked improvement was discussed during a presentation to the State Board of Education.
The annual report, mandated by the North Carolina General Assembly (NCGA), provides insight into teacher and principal retention across the state’s 115 public school districts. Notably, more than 90% of principals continued in their roles from March 2023 to March 2024.
The attrition rate—a measure of how many teachers left their positions—dropped to 9.88% from 11.5% the previous year. This reduction equates to nearly 1,500 fewer teachers leaving from a total workforce of 89,972 full-time educators. Despite this progress, the current attrition rate remains above the seven-year average of 8.64%.
North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction Maurice “Mo” Green commented, “While the report shows improvement in the percentage of teachers staying compared to prior years, there are still far too many teachers leaving the profession.” He emphasized the importance of valuing teachers and ensuring competitive salaries and growth opportunities within public schools.
Efforts to improve teacher retention are reflected in the superintendent’s legislative agenda, which advocates for significant salary increases and the expansion of the Advanced Teaching Roles Program, a scheme that supports career advancement for effective teachers.
Teacher attrition is particularly pronounced among those new to the profession and those with over 28 years of experience. In the past year, attrition rates ranged from 11.7% to 17.5% for teachers with less than five years of experience and from 18.5% to 26.8% for seasoned educators.
Although there has been a decrease in new teachers entering through alternative licensure routes, this pathway still accounts for nearly half of all new educators, having grown by 19.6% since 2017-18.
Dr. Tom Tomberlin, senior director of educator preparation, licensure, and performance at the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI), addressed the need for additional support for teachers entering the profession through alternative routes. He noted, “This middling conversion rate shows that we still have some work to do when it comes to supporting our alternatively prepared teachers.”
Vacancy Data
Changes in legislative definitions have broadened what constitutes a vacancy since the 2021-22 academic year. For 2023-24, the vacancy rate, which includes positions filled by temporarily licensed teachers and rehired retirees, stood at 8.2%, up from 6.4% the prior year. However, Tomberlin highlighted that if only unfilled positions were considered, the rate would be closer to 1.9%.
“If we’re just looking at unfilled positions and unresolved licenses, our vacancy rate would be much lower – approximately 1.9%,” he explained. The broader definition aims to provide a clearer picture of staffing needs across North Carolina’s public schools.
Principal Movement
This year’s report, for the first time, includes data on principal movement due to new legislative requirements. At the end of the 2022-23 school year, 186 out of 2,498 principals left their positions, resulting in a 7.45% attrition rate, with the majority retiring.
Despite these departures, a significant 92.4% of principals remained in their roles from 2023 to 2024, and around 4.9% moved on to district-level positions. Additionally, over two-thirds of principals at low-performing schools continued to lead the same institutions.
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