Each year, policymakers, educators, and the general public engage in debates around the statewide average teacher pay figure that the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (DPI) publishes on its website and reports to the National Education Association. These debates take up the important consideration of whether or not teachers are…

In North Carolina and across the nation, districts and schools struggle to recruit and retain effective teachers, especially teachers of color. For more than a decade, declining enrollments in educator preparation programs and rises in teacher vacancies and attrition rates, coupled with population growth and increasing demand for teachers, have…

As housing prices increase in cities across the country, many teachers are finding it harder to afford to live in the districts in which they teach. Teacher salaries aren't keeping up with the rising cost of living. These challenges are contributing to widespread teacher turnover, which is known to have negative effects on students. Teachers are…

The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) and the Professional Educator Preparation and Standards Commission (PEPSC) of the State Board of Education are working on a new teacher licensure pathways proposal, Pathways to Excellence for Teaching Professionals (Model). This proposal, if enacted, would restructure the state's system…

The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) and the Professional Educator Preparation and Standards Commission (PEPSC) of the State Board of Education are working on a new teacher licensure pathways proposal, Pathways to Excellence for Teaching Professionals (Model). This proposal, if enacted, would restructure the state's system…

Teach For America (TFA) began in 1990 as an organization purportedly interested in working towards ameliorating a national teacher shortage by sending its corps members into urban and rural schools. In the decades that followed, especially during and immediately following a nationwide onslaught of teacher layoffs instigated by the 2008 Great…

Nobody goes into teaching to get rich, but that's no excuse not to pay teachers as professionals. Compensation is one of the most important factors in determining who enters the teaching profession and how long they stay--yet 90 percent of all U.S. school districts pay teachers without any regard for their actual performance with students,…

Business and industry leaders do not flinch at the idea of placing top talent in struggling departments and divisions. This is not always the case in public education. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools made a bold statement to its community in its strategic plan by identifying two key reform levers--(1) an effective principal leading each school;…

Throughout the United States, educational organizations are striving to find more effective ways to improve teacher performance and student learning. The increased pressure to improve teacher effectiveness in the classroom has led many public school districts to adopt a pay for performance system as a strategic compensation option for enhancing…

The first two goals of "Teaching Our Way to the Top, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Public Schools" (CMS) Strategic Plan 2014,--Effective Teaching and Leadership and Performance Management--make clear that the district's top two priorities are ensuring excellent instruction districtwide and creating a performance culture organized on the…

To help all students reach their potential, district leaders must ensure that every student has consistent access to excellent teaching. Opportunity Culture compensation and career path structures help make that possible, and this guide shows how. "Teacher Pay and Career Paths in an Opportunity Culture: A Practical Policy Guide" shows…

Making robust and reliable information about schools accessible is one of the most powerful ways to foster engagement and promote informed decisions that will shape our communities. Though education data is frequently collected and aggregated at the state level, data is rarely synthesized across cities. This report provides comparable information…

In February 2011, the U.S. Department of Education (ED)--along with co-sponsors from the American Association of School Administrators, the American Federation of Teachers, the Council of the Great City Schools, the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, the National Education Association, and the National School Boards Association--brought…

Pay for performance is not a new idea, and reformers should not ignore the dismal record of merit pay over the past century. Initially adopted with a flourish of expectations during several waves of popularity in the past, every plan eventually fell into disuse. These plans proved to be unexpectedly costly and cumbersome to run. They often…

In the era of No Child Left Behind, principals are increasingly held accountable for student performance. But are teacher labor agreements giving them enough flexibility to manage effectively? This study answers this question and others. It examines how much flexibility school leaders enjoy on key dimensions of management in America's fifty…