Teachers do a lot of work for very little compensation.
The classroom instruction they give to students is only a small part of their day-to-day schedule — that doesn't include the late nights spent grading, the parent conferences they attend and the extracurriculars they mentor.
On top of that, North Carolina has the highest number of public school teachers with National Board Certifications from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards in the entire United States.
On its surface, this is a good thing. The application process leads teachers to reflect on their teaching methods.
To receive certifications, candidates must complete an application, which can take up to 400 hours to complete. They also pay a $1,900 application fee, which used to be paid for by the state — but now teachers are offered a low-interest loan which must be paid back. Teachers should not be expected to pay for relevant-to-their-job evaluations.
But there’s another component to this dynamic.
Teachers that receive National Board Certifications receive a 12 percent pay bump. This might be a good incentive if North Carolina teachers were paid anything close to reasonable salaries, but instead, North Carolina teachers are among the worst-compensated teachers in the entire country. Teachers flee North Carolina for better working conditions in other states at alarming rates.
Even teachers who receive their National Board Certification have reported distressing financial troubles.
Teachers deserve to be treated and paid better; they are an integral part of fostering an educated populous. Their salaries should be higher regardless and expensive certifications should not be required to receive a wage.
