strengthening and diversifying
the teacher pipeline
CMS Teaching Residency (CMSTR) provides an accelerated, affordable pathway for passionate professionals to become licensed classroom teachers in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. This district-operated program focuses on developing effective teachers to support the areas of highest need in our school system.
Through a year of rigorous training, personalized support, and hands-on experience teaching in CMS classrooms, residents build new skills while completing requirements for North Carolina teaching licensure.
The CMS Foundation is supporting the district's efforts to build this pathway to licensure for non-traditional teaching candidates, with a specific focus on attracting and retaining more teachers of color, secondary STEM and Exceptional Children teachers in CMS through this program.
Our Work
Addressing an Urgent Need
The United States is experiencing a severe teacher shortage. Researchers estimate that the current annual shortage is close to 110,000 nationally and will continue to increase. Teacher shortages have system-wide impacts, negatively affecting students, educators and their communities. Staff instability and shortages jeopardize students’ ability to learn, and high teacher turnover consumes limited resources that could be used to meet students’ other needs.
North Carolina is not immune to this crisis. Across the UNC System, undergraduate enrollment in education programs is down 43% since 2010. Locally, CMS has a teaching force of ~9,000 licensed teachers and hires an average of 1,350 teachers annually. For the 2019-20 school year, the district hired 1,436 new teachers, up 150 from the previous year.*
With support from the CMS Foundation, CMS Teaching Residency is addressing this urgent need, helping people transition into successful teaching careers and use their skills to make a positive impact in classrooms across Charlotte-Mecklenburg.
*Total hires for SY2020-21 were down at 854, with decreases in both separations and hires attributed to COVID-19 impacts; however, CMS anticipates increases moving into SY2021-22.
