UNION COUNTY, N.C. — South Piedmont Community College is partnering with local school districts to seek solutions to teacher vacancies.
In September, the college will launch its “Educator Preparation Program” to fast-track more teachers into classrooms. State data shows enrollment in teaching programs has been declining since 2021. Plus, the number of teachers leaving their jobs is rising.
The program is part of a statewide initiative to get elementary school teachers licensed. A spokesperson for SPCC said it’s an affordable and accessible way to impact North Carolina’s teacher shortage.
"There's a dire teacher shortage across, not just the counties here in Charlotte, but really across North Carolina," Lindsey Floyd, SPCC's program lead, said.
This type of program for resident teachers has always been an option at four-year institutions, Floyd said, but now the state is looking to community colleges for help too.
The Cultivating Carolina Classrooms initiative was piloted last year at a few community colleges in the state, including Central Piedmont. Now, it's expanding to more schools. Anyone working in a classroom who has a bachelor's degree is eligible.
"We want to make sure that we're filling those vacancies with highly qualified teachers," Floyd added.
SPCC is taking a hyper-local approach, partnering with Anson and Union County schools to get the word out.
Union County Public Schools Superintendent Andrew Houlihan said his district is an outlier in the teacher shortage trend. UCPS has cut vacancies in half since last year.
"We're in a much better place than we were a year ago," Houlihan said.
UCPS has 55 openings out of 3,000 positions. Houlihan credits the improvements to several incentives and recruitment programs offered, including this new initiative.
"The work we do to support teachers around professional development goes a long way," Houlihan said.
SPCC’s new program can be in-person, online, or hybrid. Floyd said she has a small group signed up and hopes to recruit more students before the fall semester.
Contact Julia Kauffman at jkauffman@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.