NC’s alarming shortage of trained, experienced teachers is about to get worse | Opinion

In the landmark Leandro school funding case, the state Supreme Court found that every public school classroom in North Carolina should have a competent, certified, well-trained teacher.

It’s well known that the state falls short of that standard. What is not so well known is how far short it’s falling.

A new N.C. Board of Education report – the 2023-24 State of the Teaching Profession in North Carolina – shows that while the teacher vacancy rate has dropped in the last year, the number of traditionally trained and licensed teachers is also falling. A Department of Public Instruction news release on the report said, “The number of new teachers entering classrooms under alternative licensure routes has decreased since last year but still makes up nearly half of all new educators in the state.”

Schools are increasingly employing people without standard teacher training who qualify on the basis of a one-year residency license. Those teachers must have a college degree, but are allowed to take up to three years to complete courses required for a traditional teaching license. Many of them leave without completing the training.

The increase in teachers with an alternative license helps to paper over the shortage of traditionally licensed teachers, but it means students are less likely to be taught by an experienced and well-trained teacher.

Jen Mangrum, a former professor of teacher education at UNC-Greensboro and the Democratic nominee for state Superintendent of Education in 2020, said teacher quality is suffering as standards decline.

Mangrum, now an organizer for the American Federation of Teachers, said that when she applied to be a teacher in Greensboro in 1989, the teaching ranks were so full she couldn’t get hired. There was even the consideration, she said, of requiring that new teachers have a master’s degree.

“It’s completely opposite now,” she said. “It’s get a body, get somebody in there.”

Mary Ann Wolf, president and executive director of the nonprofit Public School Forum of North Carolina, said the relaxed standards accelerate teacher turnover and require local school systems to provide more on-the-job training.

“The rising number of teachers entering the classroom without prior teaching experience or an education degree is a concern,” she said. “Research consistently shows that uncertified teachers are more likely to leave the profession early and are generally less effective than those who are traditionally trained.”

Tamika Walker Kelly, president of the North Carolina Association of Educators, said the state needs to increase its investment in teachers, instead of just making it easier to become one.

“We appreciate that elected leaders and administrators are trying to find solutions, but to provide the best education for our young people we need to invest in teaching professionals,” she said. “We need better pay and more support, not lowering standards for who can lead a classroom.”

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Maurice “Mo” Green said opening new pathways to teaching should be accompanied by more resources to help new arrivals stay in teaching.

“While there are many great teachers who enter the classroom with no prior teaching experience or education degree, and while I am pleased to have them, it would be beneficial for them to receive more beginning teacher support,” he said.

North Carolina is increasingly trading certified, experienced teachers for teachers with less training and less commitment to staying in teaching. The change is hitting low-wealth school districts hardest because they offer less pay and have a more difficult time recruiting certified teachers.

The situation is about to get worse as the Trump administration is cutting funds for teacher recruitment. Meanwhile, the Republican-majority state Supreme Court is expected to reverse its previous ruling in favor of more school funding under the Leandro decision.

Parents who send their children to a public school expect that their children will be taught by a well-trained teacher. Instead, children are more likely to go into a classroom headed by a substitute teacher or one who is still in training.

The state should be raising standards for teachers and adding incentives to go into teaching as a career-long commitment. What’s happening now shortchanges students, taxpayers and North Carolina’s future.

This story was originally published April 14, 2025 at 10:41 AM.