Dr. Robert P. Taylor
Superintendent
Wake County Public School System

CARY (August 28, 2024) – The start of a new school year is always a time of excitement and promise. This year, as we welcome traditional calendar schools and students back to join our year-round schools already in session, there is even more reason than usual to be optimistic about what the 2024-25 school year holds in store.

Thanks to the hard work of our entire staff – most especially our teachers – academic proficiency improved significantly in many areas this past school year. We also had our largest graduating class ever, with 12,000 students earning their diplomas.

The official figures demonstrating our progress in great detail will be made public next week when the State Board of Education releases annual accountability data. For now, it suffices to say that our teachers and our schools are performing at a high level and doing an exceptional job in moving the mark for all students.

With that context, I wanted to take a moment to acknowledge the public discourse that has arisen in recent weeks around the need to increase pay for all North Carolina teachers, and share my thoughts about the present and future of our collective efforts to see that teachers receive the compensation they deserve.

In Wake County, through collaboration with state and county partners, we have been able to develop a competitive teacher pay structure. Through the generosity of the Wake County Commissioners, we offer one of the highest salary supplements in North Carolina, as well as additional pay for advanced degrees not currently funded by the state. 

This, in addition to the raises provided in recent state budgets, have helped us start 2024-25 with fewer teacher vacancies than we have had in several years.

That’s all good news, and I am grateful for the productive partnerships we enjoy both with our Wake County Board of Commissioners and with lawmakers in the General Assembly.

Looking forward, however, it is clear that we must come together – educators and elected officials – to do more for our teachers if we are to sustain a healthy public education system in North Carolina for the long term.

Last year, North Carolina had over 3,000 teacher vacancies – mostly impacting our schools with the greatest needs. That’s due to the harsh truth that more teachers are choosing to leave the profession, and fewer young people are opting to pursue teaching as a career.

I mentioned some encouraging trends above, but much work remains to close the gaps that persist among our students of color and students with economic hardships. 

Simply put: we can’t close those gaps without a highly trained teacher in every classroom.

Here in Wake County, our teachers continue to engage in professional development to enhance their skills in reaching and teaching students who need additional support. This is absolutely essential as we pursue our goal of eliminating disparities in student outcomes. 

This is demanding work. More than that, it is vital work. And I don’t think I’m alone in this belief. 

Despite our differences, I see a broad consensus throughout our state that a healthy teacher workforce means a healthy North Carolina. Study after study confirms that well-educated young people grow into productive, conscientious adults who drive our economy, participate in civic life, and positively contribute to a functioning society.

Again, that doesn’t happen without qualified and well-compensated teachers in every classroom.

With any budget, there will be competing demands and viewpoints around the allocation of public resources. Difficult decisions must be made.

As the proud superintendent of a school district with nearly 11,000 teachers, and as a teacher myself, I will always advocate for pay that reflects the skill and effort it takes to do this most indispensable work effectively.

But I also realize that our schools don’t operate in a vacuum. Nothing will get done without consensus.

My hope is, as conversations around this perennial yet all-important topic move forward, that we look for common ground. Ultimately, we all want the same thing: a public education system that works for every student, resulting in a peaceful and prosperous North Carolina.

In this pursuit, teachers are the difference makers.

As we embark on a new school year full of promise, I look forward to working in good faith with all our partners to give teachers everything they need to build on their success. If we can do this, I have every confidence that we can reach a new level of excellence as a school district and as a state.

Together, let’s find the way there.