GUILFORD COUNTY, N.C. — First lady Jill Biden and Education Secretary Miguel Cardona visited Greensboro Monday to talk about the recruitment and retention of teachers. Many of the next-generation teachers are already in the classroom alongside students. 

At the beginning of the academic year, there were more than 3,600 teacher vacancies in school districts across the state, according to the North Carolina School Superintendents Association.

The pipeline to create new teachers continues to narrow. From 2012 to 2021, there was a 35% drop in enrollment in undergraduate education programs at UNC System schools. There was also a 9% drop in enrollment in master’s programs at UNC System schools. 

Makalah Cobb is a senior at UNC-Greensboro. Since second grade, she’s dreamt of becoming a teacher. Today, she’s finishing up a dual degree in special education and elementary education. Cobb plans to continue by earning her master’s at UNC-Greensboro, and later hopes to land a teaching position in Wake County. 

“I also had a passion for special ed after working in some of the special ed classrooms in high school and then being able to work with students that had autism, and I just felt like I could make a difference in the classroom being a special education teacher,” she said. 

So far in Cobb’s academic career, she’s completed five internships in the classroom. Her latest placement was at Sedgefield Elementary School in Greensboro, where she worked with kindergarteners. In January, she’ll start as a student teacher. Cobb believes training in the classroom prepares her to lead a class of her own one day. 

“This year I was more prepared. I knew what to do. I was able to jump right in and help, start teaching, start modeling for the students. My first semester I ever interned, I was so nervous. I was just in a corner, quiet, observing, but I felt a lot more prepared this year,” she said. 

Experiential learning and apprenticeship programs similar to what Cobb works in are important according to Biden.

The real-world experience helps education students practice the profession before they graduate. President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan grants $130 billion to K-12 schools across the nation.