NC schools win $24 million in federal grants to recruit and retain teachers
North Carolina schools, including in Wake County and Charlotte-Mecklenburg, have won $24 million in federal grant money to use strategies such as performance pay to address teacher shortages.
The U.S. Department of Education announced this week that it has awarded $114.8 million this year in Teacher and School Leader grants to 29 recipients, including Wake County, Charlotte-Mecklenburg, Montgomery County and the Raleigh-based Innovation Project.
The amount could triple over the three-year life of the grant. Recipients are supposed to “develop, implement, improve, or expand comprehensive performance-based compensation systems.”
“This nearly $115 million investment will help states and school districts recruit and retain new talent, increase compensation, and address educator shortages that we know disproportionately impact students from our communities of color, students from low-income backgrounds, students with disabilities and English learners,” U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a news release.
Performance pay is controversial because some teachers say it leads to competition instead of collaboration. But supporters say it rewards effective teachers.
The grants come as North Carolina school districts opened the school year with 3,584 teacher vacancies. Fewer students in North Carolina colleges and universities are studying to become teachers.
North Carolina grant recipients
▪ Wake County will get $4.6 million this year to start Project LEADERS (Leveraging Employee Advancement to Develop Excellence and Reach Success). Wake will use performance-based compensation to “recruit, retain, reward, and develop well-qualified educators” at 24 high-need schools.
▪ Charlotte-Mecklenburg will get $2.8 million this year to expand the Opportunity Culture Teacher Leader Pathways program into more schools. The program pays “highly effective” teachers up to $18,250 extra a year to stay in the classroom while taking on additional leadership roles in their school.
▪ Montgomery County will get $8.3 million to start the TEAM (Teacher and Principal Effectiveness Acceleration in Montgomery) program in its 11 schools. The money will help the small rural district, located about 90 miles west of Raleigh, with activities such as hiring a more diverse teacher workforce and identifying master teachers.
▪ The Innovation Project will get $8.3 million this year to support its Reimagining Teaching Talent program to help support 79 schools in eight North Carolina school districts. The eight districts are Asheboro, Edgecombe County, Elizabeth City-Pasquotank, Lexington, Mount Airy, Scotland County, Vance County and Warren County.
