Last year, more than 10,000 teachers left their jobs in the North Carolina public school system. That’s an attrition rate of 11.5%, an increase from nearly 8% the previous year.
But these rates are worse for teachers who are just starting out. Thomas Tomberlin with the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction shared this data from the annual State of the Teaching Profession Report at a meeting on Wednesday. He said that more than a quarter of teachers leave the profession within their first year.
“They are leaving for a reason. They came in thinking they wanted to be a teacher, and after a year, they decided this is not what I want to do. One in four of them did. And so decisions on these folks to leave the profession m
Educators leave the profession at a significantly lower rate than other North Carolina state employees, who have similar benefits and whose salaries are also set by the North Carolina General Assembly. Their turnover rate is 16.8%, according to a March 2023 report from the Office of State Human Resources.
Schools are also hiring more teachers than they lose. In fall 2023, 11,023 educators were hired after 10,373 attrited in the previous school year. The replenishment rate has averaged 122.8% over the past six school years.
The report sought to put the figures in context with national trends and other state jobs. Educators leave the profession at a significantly lower rate than other North Carolina state employees, who have similar benefits and also have salaries set by the North Carolina General Assembly. Their turnover rate is 16.8%, according to a March 2023 report from the Office of State Human Resources.
Schools are also hiring more teachers than they lose. In fall 2023, 11,023 educators were hired after 10,373 attrited in the previous school year. The replenishment rate has averaged 122.8% over the past six school years.