More than 10,000 NC teachers left their classrooms last year, report says

NORTH CAROLINA — More than 10,000 North Carolina teachers left the state’s classrooms in 2023.

It’s the highest annual total reported in at least the past two decades, according to a new state report.

It says 1 out of 9 K through 12 teachers stopped teaching in North Carolina in the last school year. Among first-year teachers, that number was 1 in 4.

State education leaders like North Carolina Superintendent Catherine Truitt say several things may be to blame.

“Chronic absenteeism, parents not prioritizing sending their kids back to school. Parents have a different relationship with school now,” she said. “And I’m not entirely surprised to see this.”

The report also found nearly half of the new teachers hired last school year were coming from other professions.

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