CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools has released its spring 2024 report and in the report, CMS says it is "not making progress" in one key area.
CMS says it is currently monitoring three key aspects within its school with two interim guardrails that focus specifically on staffing. A new report released this month shows the number of teachers teaching out of certification is almost double its initial goal.
As of March 2024, CMS says the percentage of teachers teaching out of certification is 26.9%, they say its target goal is 10%. That’s more than double.
CMS says more than 20% of teachers teaching without a certification include teachers that are teaching as an alternatively licensed teacher, or have a pending license request.
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To explain this data, CMS says along with the current teacher shortage, a lot of teacher candidates are entering the field in a non-traditional way. In North Carolina, there has been a 26% decline in enrollment in teacher preparation programs.
CMS says these declines directly impact the ability to recruit fully licensed qualified teachers.
But some good news, CMS says its schools are meeting their substitute fill rate, they say the percentage of schools with a substitute fill rate of 70% or higher is at 48%. That’s a steep increase from 2020 when the fill rate was at 6%.