Teacher Recruitment and Retention Trends across North Carolina and the Impact of COVID-19

This grant will support the Public School Forum of North Carolina and the Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity at Duke University to conduct a mixed-methods, descriptive research project examining whether, how, and to what extent the teacher supply and teacher pipeline in North Carolina have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. In North Carolina and nationally, schools struggle to recruit and retain effective teachers- especially those that serve larger proportions of economically disadvantaged and/or Black and Latinx students. COVID-19 has exacerbated educational inequities and worsened the already formidable obstacles that schools and districts face in retaining and supporting effective teachers. This project will analyze data on teacher attrition, retirement, and vacancy rates across districts, enrollment in educator preparation programs, and teachers' job satisfaction and related decisions to leave or stay in the profession, with attention to equity of access to effective teachers across schools and districts and progress towards the recruitment and retention of a diverse teacher workforce. Findings will be used to inform recommendations for policy and practice. Co-PIs are Lauren Fox, Ph.D., Ashley Kazouh, MSW/MPA and Adam Hollowell, Ph.D.