Durham, Wake school districts battle the challenges of hiring, retaining teachers

DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) -- Parents expect their child to have a teacher when they walk into the classroom each day.

And school districts in North Carolina make it a priority to try and retain teachers.

Data shows that during the pandemic and right after North Carolina faced challenges in teacher retention. The Department of Public Instruction reports for the 2022-2023 school year there was a turnover rate of about 11.5%.

There has been recent improvement with 9.8% rate in the 2023-2024 school year.

Wake County Public School System (WCPSS) tells ABC11 Eyewitness News they are trending in the direction of the 'best staffing year in recent history.'

Durham Public Schools (DPS) district leaders say they're also seeing positive trends.

"Recruitment has actually been going in a positive direction," said Michelle Hayes with Durham Public Schools. Hayes said they have more than 2,000 substitutes and hired more than 400 first year and 'alternative pathway' teachers.

"A lot of great candidates with a lot of great qualities and credentials that we were looking for," said Hayes.

Hayes says there are just under 100 vacancies, many of those are in the special education department.

"We probably have the largest vacancies in that area, and we would love if you if you know someone or you are someone with this background, we would love for you to come in and apply because we definitely need our teachers working with our most fragile students in the district."

When it comes to teachers pay, Hayes says Durham educators with a master's degree receive 10 percent above those with only a bachelor's degree.

"Local master's pay has definitely helped with recruitment. We're one of the few cities that offer master's pay," said Hayes.