As the school year begins, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is struggling with 390 teacher vacancies. | Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools
As the school year begins, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is struggling with 390 teacher vacancies. | Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools
When school started Monday, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) were hundreds of teachers short, something that will make the first week of classes more hectic than usual as both students and teachers adjust.
“It’s definitely getting rocky, but I think the first week of school starting is always rocky." Delaiah Pettiford, parent of a student, said in a FOX 46 news report. “It definitely doesn’t feel good because the kids need stability in the classroom every single day.”
To cope with the 390 teaching vacancies, the school system is using substitute and guest teachers. The distinction between the two titles is that guest teachers are longer-term and they qualify for full-time benefits.
“I would say your vacancies are more impactful at the high school level because you have licensure issues with the certification like you’re only certified to teach science, that’s it,” CMS Interim Superintendent Hugh Hattabaugh told FOX 46.
The reasons for the vacancies are varied, with retirements, relocations and profession changes as three of the biggest contributing factors; Christine Pejot, chief Human Resources officer for CMS, said.
With those challenges, Pettiford is grateful for the teachers who have stuck with the school system.
“Thank you to the teachers that we do still have,” she said. “Please keep holding in there because our kids need you."
Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School has the most vacancies in the district at 20, followed by Southwest Middle (13), Julius Chambers High and South Mecklenburg High (11 each), and Olympic High and Turning Point Academy (10 each).
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