Classroom Teachers
The licensure and salary certification files for teachers are updated daily and can be pulled at any time. It takes several months for LEAs to finalize assignments, enter new hires, and correct coding. March licensure data most accurately reflect the situation in the school during the school year.

Data include only "classroom teachers" employed in March 2013. A classroom teacher is defined by the NC Department of Public Instruction as anyone in object codes 121, 123, or 124. There are other adults in the school building, many of whom work with children, who are not counted here (e.g. Media Specialist, Counselor, etc.).

District and state counts are the average number of classroom teachers in schools in the same grade span category (elementary, middle, high, combined elementary, middle and high, combined elementary and middle or combined middle and high).

Source: NCDPI, Financial and Business Services, Licensure Section, Licensure & Salary Certification Files, March 2013.

Teacher Licensure
The licensure and salary certification files for teachers are updated daily and can be pulled at any time. It takes several months for Local Education Agencies (LEAs) to finalize assignments, enter new hires, and correct coding. March licensure data most accurately reflect the situation in the school during the school year.

In North Carolina, prospective teachers must complete an approved education program to obtain a teaching license. North Carolina also requires first-time applicants to obtain a minimum score on content-based Praxis examinations in their main teaching field. Out-of-state applicants, to the extent that their education programs are equivalent to the standards and guidelines of North Carolina's approved education programs, qualify through reciprocity agreements. But, they too, during the 2012-13 school year, must have taken the appropriate Praxis examinations to qualify for licensure.

For purposes of the NC Report Card, "fully licensed" percentages include only those classroom teachers with clear initial or clear continuing licenses. A classroom teacher is defined by the NC Department of Public Instruction as anyone object codes 121, 123, or 124.

Some teachers are licensed in multiple areas. For purposes of the NC Report Cards, these teachers are counted only once and included in the license category with the most deficiencies to be satisfied before becoming an initial or continuing license. License categories are ranked from most to least deficiencies, as follows: emergency permit, SB 1124, lateral entry, provisional license, temporary permit, initial license, and continuing license. Following is a description of each category.

• Emergency Permit

Issued to individuals who hold at least a bachelor’s degree but do not have the equivalent of a college major in the area they are assigned to teach or do not have the required grade point average to qualify for a license based on any other licensure policy. Emergency permits are valid for one year and are not renewable. They are not issued for elementary grades or core academic subjects in middle or high school.


• Lateral Entry

Issued to individuals who hold at least a bachelor’s degree from a regionally-accredited institution with the equivalent of a college major in the area they are assigned to teach. Individuals employed on lateral entry licenses must be affiliated with colleges and universities with approved teacher education programs, or with one of the Regional Alternative Licensing Centers (RALC) in North Carolina to complete prescribed course work. The individual follows their plan of study prescribed by the college or university or the RALC. A minimum of six semester hours per year from the plan of study must be taken until the plan has been completed. All coursework and the Praxis II exam for their licensure area must be completed within three years.


• Provisional License

Issued to individuals who are licensed in one or more areas, but assigned to teach in an area in which they are not licensed. Provisional licenses are not issued in elementary grades or core academic subject areas in middle or high school. Individuals employed with provisional licenses must be affiliated with colleges and universities with approved teacher education programs to complete prescribed course work. Individuals employed on provisional licenses must complete at least six semester hours of course work each year. The license can be renewed annually for up to four more years (five years total). The Praxis II subject test(s) for the area must be satisfied upon completion.


• Initial License

Issued to teachers with 0-2 years of teaching experience. This license is valid for three years of practice. To be issued, the teacher must have completed a state-approved teacher education program from a regionally-accredited college or university, or completed another state's approved alternative route to licensure, met the federal requirements to be designated as Highly Qualified, and earned a bachelor's degree from a regionally-accredited college.


• Continuing License

Issued to individuals who have satisfactorily completed the Initial Licensure Program or who are fully licensed and “Highly Qualified” in another state with three or more years of teaching experience in another state, AND who meet NC's Praxis testing requirements, OR have National Board Certification. This is a renewable, five-year license.

Source: NCDPI, Financial and Business Services, Licensure Section, Licensure & Salary Certification Files, March 2013.

Highly Qualified Teachers
All teachers of core academic subjects must be Highly Qualified. As specified by the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) federal education act, the term “core academic subjects” means English, reading, language arts, mathematics, science, foreign languages, civics and government, economics, arts, history and geography.

To be a Highly Qualified teacher at the elementary school level a teacher must have obtained an appropriate license for the core academic subjects taught and demonstrate subject knowledge and teaching skills in reading/language arts, writing, mathematics, and other areas of the basic elementary school curriculum by passing the teacher licensing exams (Praxis II) required by the state.

To be a Highly Qualified teacher at the middle and high school levels a teacher must have obtained a middle school or secondary license in a teaching area required for each teaching assignment and demonstrate a high level of competency by:

• Passing the required Praxis II test(s) in each academic subject in which the teacher teaches, or
• Successfully completing one of the following steps in each academic subject in which the teacher teaches:
  
  
  1. An undergraduate major,
  2. Coursework equivalent to an undergraduate major,
  3. A graduate degree in the core teaching subject area(s),
  4. Master's level licensure or above in the appropriate subject area, or
  5. National Board Certification in the related subject area(s).

At the beginning of each school year, Local Education Agencies (LEAs) must notify the parents of each student attending a Title I school that they may request the following qualifications of their child's teacher:

• Whether the teacher has met NC licensing requirements,
• Whether the teacher has had any licensure requirements waived, and
• What the teacher's bachelor degree major(s) is/are, other degrees held and teaching license area(s) held.

Timely notice must also be given to parents of children in Title I Schools who, after four consecutive weeks, have been taught a core academic subject by a teacher who is not Highly Qualified. The specific teaching licenses considered to be in field for each class can be obtained from the NC Department of Public Instruction's Licensure Section. Percentages include only core academic subject courses.

Sources: NCDPI, Licensure Section, Licensure & Salary Certification Files, March 2013.

Percentage of Teachers with Advanced Degrees
The licensure and salary certification files for teachers are updated daily and can be pulled at any time. It takes several months for Local Education Agencies (LEAs) to finalize assignments, enter new hires, and correct coding. March licensure data most accurately reflect the situation in the school during the school year.

For purposes of the Report Card, an advanced degree is any degree above a bachelor's, including master's, advanced, or doctoral degrees. Data are only reported for classroom teachers. A classroom teacher is defined by the NC Department of Public Instruction as anyone in object codes 121, 123, or 124.

Teachers with advanced degrees outside of the field of education are not being included in this percentage. The licensure file does not capture non-education advanced degrees. If a classroom teacher is listed as having more than one type of license, the license area with the highest degree held is reported.

Source: NCDPI, Financial and Business Services, Licensure Section, Licensure & Salary Certification Files, March 2013.

Number of National Board Certified Teachers
The licensure and salary certification files for teachers for teachers are updated daily and can be pulled at any time. It takes several months for Local Education Agencies (LEAs) to finalize assignments, enter new hires, and correct coding. March licensure data most accurately reflect the situation in the school during the school year.

The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards operates a national, voluntary system to assess and certify teachers. Candidates for National Board Certification gather a portfolio of evidence of their work (including student work samples, lesson plans, and videos) and complete a detailed analysis of that evidence. In addition, all candidates complete a full day of assessments focused on content knowledge in their main teaching area.

National Board Certified Teacher counts include all staff members with National Board Certification, regardless of their job assignment. District and state counts include the average number of National Board Certified Teachers in schools in the same grade span category (elementary; middle; high; combined elementary and middle; combined middle and high; and combined elementary, middle and high).

Source: NCDPI, Financial and Business Services, Licensure Section, Licensure & Salary Certification Files, March 2013.

Years of Teaching Experience
The licensure and salary certification files for teachers are updated daily and can be pulled at any time. It takes several months for Local Education Agencies (LEAs) to finalize assignments, enter new hires, and correct coding. February or March licensure data most accurately reflect the situation in the school during the school year.

Data are presented on the percentage of classroom teachers with 0-3, 4-10, and greater than 10 years of teaching experience. A classroom teacher is defined by the NC Department of Public Instruction as anyone in object codes 121, 123, or 124. North Carolina credits teachers with an additional year experience at the end of each school year. In addition, teachers licensed out-of-state and lateral entry teachers may be credited with additional years of experience. Out-of-state teachers will receive additional credit for out-of-state teaching experience verified by the Licensure Section at NCDPI. Lateral entry teachers may receive additional credit for non-teaching work related to their teaching assignment. For example, a chemistry teacher may be credited with additional years of experience for prior work as a chemist. Years of teaching experience are based upon the highest years on the educator's license during the 2012-13 school year.

Percentages in the three experience categories may not total 100 percent due to rounding.

Source: NCDPI, Financial and Business Services, Licensure Section, Licensure & Salary Certification Files, March 2013.

Teacher Turnover Rates
The licensure and salary certification files for teachers are updated daily and can be pulled at any time. It takes several months for Local Education Agencies (LEAs) to finalize assignments, enter new hires, and correct coding. March licensure data most accurately reflect the situation in the school during the school year.

School-level turnover rates are derived from school payroll data. All classroom teachers employed in a school during March of the previous year but not employed as a classroom teacher in the same school system during March of the current year are included in the school's turnover statistics. Percentages reported on the 2012-13 Report Cards are based upon the classroom teachers employed in March 2011 and their employment status in March 2013. A classroom teacher is defined by the NC Department of Public Instruction as anyone in object codes 121, 123, or 124.

Teachers employed in more than one school will be equally distributed in the turnover rates among all schools in which they are employed in the school system. Visiting International Faculty teachers whose contracts have expired and teachers who are no longer assigned to the classroom but who are still employed in the school system are included in each school’s turnover statistics.

District-level turnover rates include any teachers who left their school district from one year to the next.

Sources:
NCDPI, Financial and Business Services, Licensure Section, Licensure & Salary Certification Files, March 2012 and March 2013.
NCDPI, Human Resource Management Division, Licensure Section, Annual Teacher Turnover Report, 2013.

Teacher and Administrator Effectiveness Results
In 2012 - 2013, all teachers and administrators were evaluated using the online North Carolina Educator Evaluation System. This process is a cornerstone of North Carolina’s award and participation in the federal Race to the Top grant program. Available results are online as part of the Public Schools of North Carolina website; results will be available in January 2014.

Teacher Working Conditions
Results from the Governor’s 2014 Bi-annual Teacher Working Conditions Survey will be available in the spring of 2014. Please contact your school principal, or visit the Teacher Working Conditions site.

School Principals’ Qualifications (District Report Cards only)
The licensure and salary certification files for teachers are updated daily and can be pulled at any time. It takes several months for Local Education Agencies (LEAs) to finalize assignments, enter new hires, and correct coding. March licensure data would most accurately reflect the situation in the school during the school year.

Data are presented on the percentage of principals with 0-3, 4-10, and greater than 10 years of principals’ experience. Years of administrative experience are based upon the highest years on the principal’s license during the 2011-12 school year. Percentages in the three experience categories may not total 100 percent due to rounding.

For purposes of the report card, an advanced degree is any degree beyond a master’s degree.

Source: NCDPI, Financial and Business Services, Licensure Section, Licensure & Salary Certification Files, March 2013.

School Principals by Demographic Group (District Report Cards only)
The SS-200 Full-Time Personnel Reporting System collects and compiles race/ethnicity and gender data of all full time principals. This data is submitted by the LEAs and Charter Schools as of October 1 for the 2012 - 2013 school year.

This table provides you with demographic information about the principals employed in this school district. Use this table to see what percentage of principals is male or female and in which racial/ethnic group principals classify themselves.

Source: NCDPI, Financial and Business Services, SS-200 Full Time Personnel Report Files, September 2012.

School Principals’ Turnover Rate (District Report Cards only)
District-level turnover rates are derived from licensure and salary certification files. All principals employed in a school in March 2012, but are not employed in the same school district in any certified position in March 2013 are included in turnover statistics.

Source: NCDPI, Financial and Business Services, Licensure Section, Licensure & Salary Certification Files, March 2012 and March 2013.