Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Selected for Pilot Teacher Recruitment Initiative

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is one of 20 public school districts that will receive a $50,000 recruitment grant through the North Carolina Teaching Fellows (NCTF) Program next year. The grant will be used to attract prospective teachers for teacher preparation courses, to pursue teacher licensure in an approved educator preparation program, or to return to work in districts that continue to face recruitment and retention challenges. The grant is renewable for three subsequent years with approved plans and continued available funding.

Districts were selected based on their interest in expanding or building their own teacher program and their specific teacher recruitment and retention challenges. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools has the CMS Teaching Residency program, an accelerated, affordable path to becoming a full-time CMS teacher.

“Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is excited to partner with the North Carolina Teaching Fellows program in this initiative to create long-term solutions to current teacher recruitment challenges affecting not only CMS, but all districts across the state. This program will give us opportunities to collaborate with other districts on innovative ways to encourage students and staff members to pursue teaching as a profession,” said Robert Ellyson, executive director of Recruitment and Retention at Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.

As part of the pilot initiative, students will receive professional development support in conjunction with the NCTF Program and benefit from local teacher recruitment strategies. The initiative will help identify and train emerging teachers from secondary schools, current employees or non-traditional sectors for employment in the district. The NCTF Program will also provide funding to support the recruitment efforts, while districts will actively promote NCTF and the teaching profession.