RALEIGH, N.C. — Teachers are a critical part of student learning, but shortages around the state have become a challenge for many schools. To fill vacancies, a North Carolina school district has created the Future Teachers Program. 

What You Need To Know

  • Schools continue to deal with teacher vacancies across the country

  • Wake County Public School System is working to fill teacher gaps they are seeing with their Future Teachers Program

  • The program aims to works with high school graduates and ultimately hire them as teachers in the future 

Nearly 14,700 teachers left North Carolina Public Schools between Sept. 2021 and Sept. 2022, according to EducationWeek. COVID-19 prompted some of the vacancies.

Like many other counties, Wake County Public Schools are facing staffing issues.

A Wake County program, dubbed the Future Teachers Program, provides a pipeline of recruits who can develop, and eventually be hired, as teachers.

Wake County Public School System graduates who want to pursue a career in education are eligible.

Accepted students for the program will receive help from the district over the course of their four-year college career. Ultimately, once they graduate, the district can then hire them, having a good idea of their background and resume.

Micayla Bell, who started teaching this year, is a graduate of the program. She’s a fourth grade teacher at Hunter Magnet Elementary School — where she once was a student herself.

“You’re not just a teacher, you’re also a comforter, you’re a shoulder to cry on, you’re listening ears, so being all those things [has] been very rewarding for me,” Bell said.

She always had a desire to teach, which may have been influenced by her mother's work in education. Bell mentioned she faced opposition from many people when she decided to pursue teaching as a career.

“A lot of people deterred me from being a teacher. Teachers don’t make a lot of money, that’s not a secret and people told me, 'you’re too smart to be a teacher, teachers don’t make any money,'” Bell said. “Teaching kids is something I have always wanted to do.”

Bell said it’s surreal to be working where she is. She believes she is making a difference in these kids' lives, while simultaneously benefiting the district.

“I hear it from my mom all the time, so being able to fill that void also makes me feel good,” she added.

The school district’s Administrator for Teacher Talent and Retention, Sherri Morris, said the first group of students from the program graduated college in 2019. Over the past two years, the district has recruited 66 novice teachers via the program.

The school district hopes to grow the program and ideally would love to have groups of 50 students involved. They will welcome new applicants starting Feb. 1.

The Wake County Public School System is not the only one trying to fill teacher vacancies.

Union County Public Schools recently launched a program that creates opportunities for current students and working teacher assistants to return to the classroom as certified professionals.