‘It’s not going away.’ NC data show which schools are hit hardest by teacher shortages

As students settle into classrooms for the 2024-25 year, kids from low-income families are more likely to face high numbers of teacher vacancies, new data show.

An analysis from nonprofit North Carolina Justice Center shows every 10% increase in a district’s share of students from low-income families is associated with an increase of 1.1 classroom teacher vacancies per 1,000 students. The average district-level teacher vacancy rate for a low-income student in North Carolina is 11% higher than it is for a student who is not low-income.

It’s not just true in small districts. Wake County Schools Superintendent Robert Taylor released a statement to parents Wednesday saying that teacher shortages across the state are “mostly impacting our schools with the greatest needs.”

“Much work remains to close the gaps that persist among our students of color and students with economic hardships,” Taylor wrote. “Simply put: we can’t close those gaps without a highly trained teacher in every classroom.”

And it’s not just North Carolina.

In 2022, 55% of U.S. public schools in high-poverty neighborhoods had at least one teaching vacancy, compared to 40% of public schools in low-poverty neighborhoods, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

“In many states, in schools where there are high concentrations of students in poverty, it is more difficult, on average, to attract and retain teachers,” said Kris Nordstrom, senior policy analyst at North Carolina Justice Center.

Teacher vacancies can mean larger class sizes and teachers spread thin as experienced educators are tasked with assisting newer teachers. Education experts consistently rate the presence of a quality teacher in every classroom as the most important in-school factor in determining academic achievement.

NC teacher vacancies

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools officials announced last week the district had 293 teacher vacancies ahead of the start of school Monday. It’s fewer than the district had this time last year, when it was short more than 500 teachers , and 97% of teaching roles are currently filled.

Still, Superintendent Crystal Hill says teacher shortages like the ones seen around the country in recent years are likely here to stay for now.

“We’ve come to grips with the fact that there will be a teacher shortage here and around the country,” Hill said at a news conference last week. “It’s not going away, and it probably will get worse before it gets better.”

But CMS last year was 43rd in its teacher vacancy rate out of the state’s 115 total school districts, with No. 1 having the fewest vacancies and No. 115 having the most. All five NC school districts with the highest teacher vacancy rates in 2023 had a student poverty rate that exceeded the state average of around 17%.

Thomasville City Schools had the highest teacher vacancy rate in the state at just under 19%. Meanwhile, 29% of its students are from families below the poverty line – nearly 12% higher than the state average.

Rowan-Salisbury Schools is the only Charlotte-area district among the state’s five districts with the highest teacher vacancy rates in 2023. It ranked 114th out of 115 total districts, with 17% of its teaching positions vacant and a poverty rate of 19%.

So, why do we see this pattern? It’s multifaceted.

“Many times, schools with a lot of low-income students are also the schools with the fewest resources, which can make it harder for them to attract teachers because the job is harder,” Nordstrom said.

He said that schools with a large proportion of low-income students likely have kids who lack necessities at home, which can make learning more difficult when they’re in school.

“When you work serving those students who have the most needs, you need more support,” said Deanna Townsend-Smith, senior director of the Dudley Flood Center for Educational Equity and Opportunity in Raleigh. “Those supports, such as counselors, nurses, et cetera, are most often not in those schools that need it the most. So, it often boils down to resource allocation and the choices the General Assembly makes about funding.”

That strains educators and student achievement.

“It isn’t truly an achievement gap but an opportunity gap,” Townsend-Smith said. “Because students have not had the necessary access to to highly trained qualified professionals who are in the classroom teaching them each and every day.”

Some good news?

CMS saw a promising trend ahead of this school year: a decrease in teacher vacancies.

In fact, the district cut its teacher shortage down by nearly half between the 2023-24 and 2024-25 school years, leaving it with a vacancy rate of about 3% when school started Monday. Nancy Brightwell, CMS chief of recruitment, retention and talent development, said the district largely filled positions by reassigning people whose jobs had previously been funded by federal COVID relief money.

The current number of statewide vacancies is not readily available.

Teacher vacancies across North Carolina increased by 911 between fall 2022 and fall 2023 — from 5,095 in 2022 to 6,006 in 2023. Vacancies in CMS increased during that time period as well, from 370 in August 2022 to 516 the following August. More than one in 16 classrooms in the state lacked a licensed teacher in fall 2023.

Both Nordstrom and Townsend-Smith said raising teacher salaries could mitigate the statewide shortage of educators.

North Carolina ranked 38th in the nation for average teacher pay in 2023 and is expected to drop to 41st this year. The North Carolina General Assembly is slated to give educators a 3% raise this school year; however, inflation is projected to outpace teacher raises at a rate of 3.8%.

In Wake County Schools, Taylor credits having one of the highest pay supplements for teachers in the state, along with additional pay for teachers with advanced degrees, for helping start the 2023-24 school year with fewer vacancies than it has had in recent years.

“As the proud superintendent of a school district with nearly 11,000 teachers, and as a teacher myself, I will always advocate for pay that reflects the skill and effort it takes to do this most indispensable work effectively,” Taylor wrote in his statement Wednesday.

Beyond a pay increase, Nordstrom said more support for teachers, improvements in school conditions and increased school support staff such as nurses and school psychologists would help with educator recruitment and retention. He also said school performance grades could use an overhaul because the D and F grades often apply to under-resourced schools. They stigmatize the students who attend and teachers who work there without providing all the additional support needed, he said.