RALEIGH, N.C. — The University of North Carolina System is putting $400,000 in new grants into 15 campuses to build teacher apprenticeships and alternate routes into K-12 classrooms, aiming at a shortage that already leaves more than 4,000 educators working on temporary licenses.
System leaders say public school teacher attrition hit 10 percent last year, according to a recent North Carolina Department of Public Instruction report. President Peter Hans said the universities need to steer more graduates toward classroom careers and adapt programs to state needs.
NC State is designing a veterans-to-teachers track with mentorship and a dual-major path pairing education with high-demand fields such as mathematics. North Carolina A&T is building an accelerated masters pathway focused on reading. UNC Charlotte is recruiting English and history majors into licensure, UNC Asheville is crafting earn-while-you-learn courses for working adults, and UNC Pembroke is partnering with Bladen County Schools so teaching assistants can finish full licenses.
Every participating campus is also standing up apprenticeship-style, work-based learning tracks. Ashton Clemmons, the systems associate vice president for P-12 strategy and policy, said schools of education are testing a range of ideas to put more qualified teachers in North Carolina classrooms.
The UNC System has long been the states largest producer of teachers, and many campuses began as teachers colleges. Officials say the grants are meant to open doors for people who already have content knowledge or classroom experience but lack a traditional education degree path.
Districts still face vacancies and temporary licenses across the state. The new money is modest against that gap, but campus projects are designed to scale routes that keep veterans, career changers and teaching assistants in North Carolina schools instead of losing them to other fields.
