North Carolina teachers are leaving the profession at a historically high rate, with 15 percent of teachers quitting last year alone.

After being consistently ranked as one of the worst states to teach in, it’s no wonder North Carolina teachers have had enough.

According to Education Week, a report from the state’s education department revealed that 2,700 left the profession last year because of “personal dissatisfaction with the state’s public schools,” a 21 percent increase from the year before. 

Says Jennifer Ferris of Women AdvaNCe, change needs to happen in order for North Carolina to hold onto its teachers.

"We aren’t paying [teachers] enough. We’re limiting their political activities and speech. We are restricting their curricula. We’re expecting them to buy school supplies out of their own pockets. We’re passing laws that make it harder for their students to succeed,” she says.

Despite the majority of the state’s public school teachers holding Master’s degrees, North Carolina pays its starting teachers “an average salary that’s less than a paralegal,” Ferris says.

"Nothing against [this position], but teachers work hard, give a lot, and — most important of all — educate the next generation of leaders, workers, and doers.”

“We can’t stand to lose one more unhappy teacher,” Ferris says, and urges North Carolina residents to join the local PTA, raise funds and supplies for schools, and most importantly take an active stance in School Board meetings and the like to bring teacher retention to the forefront in the state’s agenda.

Read the full story here.

Article by Nicole Gorman, Education World Contributor

11/09/2015