Greensboro's African American Community Newspaper since 1967
More school counselors and social workers, stronger recognition of educators and additional resources inside and outside the classroom were among the needs current and future teachers raised during a recent roundtable at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein hosted the September 8 discussion at UNCG’s School of Education, where teachers and education students spoke candidly about what drew them to the profession, the challenges they face and what the state can do to help keep educators in North Carolina classrooms.
The discussion followed Stein’s signing of a state budget in July that raises average teacher pay by eight percent, the largest average increase in 20 years—and starting teacher pay by 17 percent, the largest starting-pay increase in nearly 50 years. The budget also expands the Advanced Teaching Roles program, which allows experienced teachers to mentor colleagues, and establishes TeachReadyNC, a teacher-apprenticeship pathway.
“The number one in-school factor for student achievement is the teacher in the classroom,” Stein said. “Which means that we have to recruit talented people who are very public-spirited, hardworking, who care, and then we have to retain those who get in the profession.”
While higher salaries provided the backdrop for the conversation, participants repeatedly returned to the support teachers and students need once they enter the classroom.
Brayden Smith, a second-year teacher who teaches first grade at Shady Brook Elementary School, called for greater access to school counselors and social workers. She recalled a student experiencing a behavioral issue on a day when neither was available at the school.
“When my students really need that support and they’re not there, I feel like I’m not supporting them, and then they can’t learn,” Smith said.
She said teachers also could benefit from additional training on how to respond when students experience behavioral or emotional challenges.
Berthelia Jackson, a third-year career education teacher at Southeast Guilford Middle School, said classroom resources and relationships with students are just as important as salary increases.
“Having the right resources in the classroom helps everyone win in education,” Jackson said.
Jackson, a UNCG alum, entered teaching after more than 20 years in the clothing and textile industry. She eventually worked as a long-term substitute teacher and gained experience at several grade levels before finding her place in middle school.
She also emphasized that effective teaching requires educators to understand what their students are experiencing beyond their academic work.
“For me, it’s been developing those relationships with my students and developing them in a way that there’s respect, and they know they have to get the work done,” Jackson said. “But I’m also invested in what it is they’re going through.”
“I think when we leave the children out of the equation, then we’re not teaching anymore,” she added. “Let them give you feedback.”
Jarrett Shelton, a former Navy communications specialist who now teaches English at Northwest Guilford High School, agreed that teachers must connect with students while preparing them for a rapidly changing world. He said that includes updating classroom technology and helping students understand what they may encounter after graduation.
“We need to prepare kids for what they’re going into,” Shelton said. “That was my big pull to be a teacher, as I’ve been around and done a fair amount of career work. I’ve seen what they’re going to go into, and I want to help them be ready for that.”
Aspiring educators also told Stein that retention involves making teachers feel respected and valued.
Andrea Dela Cruz Pena, a UNCG senior double-majoring in elementary and special education, said the teachers who influenced her life inspired her to pursue the profession. A graduate of North Moore High School in Robbins, North Carolina, Pena said educators in smaller communities do not always receive recognition for the work they perform every day.
“For me, it’s really just the recognition,” Pena said. “I grew up in a small town, and I had great teachers growing up. Now that I’m older and I go back home, I don’t really see them being recognized or shown appreciation for the work that they do every day with children.”
Pena said that appreciation could include providing teachers with more resources, professional development, and finding other meaningful ways to support them throughout their careers.
The UNCG students also discussed how early classroom experience has helped them prepare for the demands of teaching.
Morgan Chitiyo, Ph.D., dean of UNCG’s School of Education, said that preparation is rooted in the university’s history.
“UNCG was founded in 1891 to prepare teachers,” Chitiyo said. “It’s not simply part of our history. It is our founding purpose.”
Over the past three years, nearly 400 UNCG graduates have earned teaching licenses, and almost 80 now work in public and charter schools, Chitiyo said. Through a partnership with Guilford County Schools, UNCG education students also have completed more than 76,000 tutoring hours with more than 850 children.
Sawyer Wemyss, a second-year middle grades math education major and Spanish minor, said she first became interested in teaching through the Teacher Cadet program at East Forsyth High School in Winston-Salem. The program allowed her to gain classroom experience at the elementary and middle levels before enrolling at UNCG.
Wemyss added Spanish as a minor after working with multilingual students because, she said, “language shouldn’t be a barrier to learning.”
At UNCG, she continued gaining practical experience beginning in her first year.
“As part of our education scholars program here at UNCG, we start in the classroom freshman year, which is awesome for someone like me who’s done Teacher Cadet,” Wemyss said. “It’s awesome for someone who’s never done it before either. That also helps some of our starting students realize, you know what? Maybe teaching’s not for me.”
Wemyss said those early experiences help ensure that the students who eventually enter classrooms are committed to the profession.
Grady Dupree-Isaac, a senior middle grades science education major, said UNCG students begin taking education courses and completing internships as freshmen, giving them time to understand their students and develop their identities as teachers.
“So, we’re already talking about what it means to work with students,” Dupree-Isaac said. “How do you teach them? How do you interact with them? How do you look into their lives and see them not just as a number.”
Inspired by his mother, who is also a teacher, Dupree-Isaac said he views education as a way to make a lasting difference.
“I knew that education was transformative,” he said. “I saw the power of education, and I saw that it really mattered. And I saw that it’s such a pathway, such a tool, that if we learn how to harness it and use it well, that we can, as educators, transform students’ lives, not just teach them.”
