Teacher Compensation Policy
Shortage-subject areas: North Carolina offers highly qualified teaching graduates who teach in the areas of special education, science, technology, engineering, or math a salary supplement during the first two years of employment that is equivalent to that of a teacher with two years of experience. A highly qualified graduate has a GPA of at least 3.75 and an edTPA score of 48 or higher.
The state's Teaching Fellows program offers loan forgiveness for those enrolled in educator preparation programs in STEM or special education fields. Forgivable loans of up to $4,125 per semester are available to eligible applicants.
High-need schools: North Carolina offers highly qualified teaching graduates who teach at low-performing schools a salary supplement during the first three years of employment that is equivalent to that of a teacher with three years of experience. A highly qualified graduate has a GPA of at least 3.75 and an edTPA score of 48 or higher.
Teachers who are National Board Certified are eligible to receive a 12% salary differential. However, this is not tied to teaching at high-need schools.
Consider
tying National Board supplements to teaching in high-need schools.
This differential pay could be an incentive to attract some
of North Carolina's most accomplished teachers to low-performing schools.
North Carolina did not respond to NCTQ's request to review this analysis for accuracy.
8B: High-Need Schools and Subjects
States should help address chronic shortages and needs. States should ensure that state-level policies (such as a uniform salary schedule) do not interfere with districts' flexibility in compensating teachers in ways that best meet their individual needs and resources. However, when it comes to addressing chronic shortages, states should do more than simply get out of the way. They should provide direct support for differential pay for effective teaching in shortage subject areas and high-need schools.[1] Attracting effective and qualified teachers to high-need schools or filling vacancies in hard-to-staff subjects are problems that are frequently beyond a district's ability to solve. States that provide direct support for differential pay in these areas are taking an important step in promoting the equitable distribution of quality teachers.[2] Short of providing direct support, states can also use policy levers to indicate to districts that differential pay is not only permissible but necessary.