WCPSS Retains Quality Teachers
December 16, 2008 - An effort to retain quality teachers is having an impact in the Wake County Public School System, as the school system’s teacher turnover rate remains below the state average and below other urban districts in the state.2007-08 Teacher Turnover Rate
|
The 2007-08 Teacher Turnover Rate report issued by the NC Department of Public Instruction reports the WCPSS rate at 11.67 percent, below the state average of 13.85 percent.
“We have healthy schools across the county,” said Assistant Superintendent Maurice Boswell. “With our healthy schools, the support we provide teachers and the quality of life we enjoy, Wake County is a great place to work and that’s why we’re able to recruit and retain the best teachers.”
The 2007-08 WCPSS rate of 11.67 percent compares with rates of 14.57 percent for Charlotte-Mecklenburg, 14.69 percent for Johnston County, 14.84 percent for Chapel Hill-Carrboro, 15.70 percent for Guilford County and 17.38 percent for Durham County.
The five year teacher turnover rate reflects similar trends. The five-year WCPSS rate of 10.52 percent compares with a state rate of 12.81. The rates were 12.48 percent for Chapel Hill Carrboro, 13.19 percent for Guilford County, 14.83 percent for Johnston County, 15.38 percent for Charlotte-Mecklenburg and 17.59 percent for Durham County.
“We have many career options for educators in Wake County,” said Boswell. “Teachers who want to remain in the classroom can earn certification from the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards and receive a boost in pay, or the Triangle Leadership Academy provides training and educational opportunities to prepare teachers to move into school administration.”
Wake County has the second largest number of National Board certified teachers of any school district in the nation. It’s easy for teachers to enroll in one of the many local colleges and universities for additional training.
Boswell said the teachers have excellent professional development, hearing from national education leaders who visit the Triangle to meet with educators. He said the WCPSS teacher transfer fair provides an opportunity for teachers who want to relocate to stay in the school district. Teachers have many choices in WCPSS - downtown schools, rural schools, magnet schools, or year-round schools.
The WCPSS rate increased to 11.67 percent in 2007-08 from 10.03 percent in 2006-07, reflecting similar increases statewide after the state changed its methodology for computing turnover percentages. For the first time, teachers who left teaching to become guidance counselors, media specialists, or assistant principals were included in the turnover percentage. The 2007-08 state rate of 13.85 percent increased from 12.31 percent in 2006-07.
Teacher turnover is reported annually by the state as required by the legislature. The 115 school systems reported that 13,432 teachers of the 96,966 teachers employed during 2007-08 left their systems for the system level turnover rate of 13.85 percent. Turnover rates ranged from a high of 41.57 percent in Weldon City Schools to a low of 4.55 percent in Graham County.
The state survey shows that teachers leave their jobs because they are taking a job teaching in another school system, are retiring, are relocating with their family or are leaving to devote more time to their families.
-wcpss-