Teacher Working Conditions Support Initiative

Facts:

    * Each school year 11,000 new teachers are needed in our statewide public schools.
    * Approximately half of our new teachers leave after 2 years.
    * According to national research the main two reasons teachers leave are due to salary issues and poor working conditions



In North Carolina there is a statewide initiative to help based on the work of the NC Professional Teaching Standards Commission (NCPTSC).


Partnerships:


BellSouth provided a $1 million dollar grant and hired The Southeast Center for Teaching Quality to develop a specialized resource called "The Tool Kit". The NC Business Committee for Education administers the project with The Governor's Office, PEP, NCCAT, DPI, NCAE and the NCPTSC working collaboratively with SECTQ.


GFWC-NC and the Woman's Club of Raleigh have joined in this partnership and will be offering our assistance with statewide grassroots support in our local schools.


To learn more go to: http://learnnc.org


Research:


Now in a statewide survey, 80,000+ teachers are asked to respond anonymously to questions relating to their working conditions. Questions like: Do you have space and time to work and prepare for class? Sufficient office supplies? Reliable technology? Etc. The next survey will be conducted from March 22 until April 12, 2004 . The results will be available online and the data collected will be used to identify individual schools and respond to the teachers' needs with "The Tool Kit".


To read more about your particular school results go to: http://learnnc.org/gov/twc.nsf


For more information, email your GFWC-NC state coordinator.