Eastern North Carolina
Schools
Rural Eastern North Carolina is home to some of the poorest school districts in the country. In a state that traditionally faces severe teacher shortages – in 2007, there were over 10,000 teaching vacancies in North Carolina – low-income schools have difficulty attracting excellent teachers, particularly in high-needs subject areas. In the past two years, Teach For America has been able to fill about 50 percent of requests for high school math teachers and special education teachers. All ten districts in which Teach For America places corps members experience some of the lowest achievement rates and highest poverty levels in the state.
Teach For America • Eastern North Carolina is working to overcome these challenges by recruiting more corps members to provide excellent educational opportunities to all students. According to a recent independent study, 100 percent of North Carolina principals who manage Teach For America corps members believe that these teachers make a positive difference in their school environment, and would hire Teach For America corps members again. Our corps members have developed new high school courses and English as a Second Language (ESL) programs, served as department chairs, sponsored extracurricular clubs and sports, and organized international field trip opportunities for their students.
View a map of our placement areas.
At a Glance
| Ethnic Breakdown-Student Population (Compiled from all school districts) |
|
70% African-American |
|
22% Caucasian |
| 6% Latino and Hispanic |
| 1% Asian-American |
| 1% Native American |
| < 1% Other |
Ethnic Breakdown-Eastern North Carolina
(Counties Included: Durham, Franklin, Granville, Halifax, Johnston, Nash, Northampton, Vance, and Warren) |
| 49% African-American |
| 45% Caucasian |
| 1% Latino and Hispanic |
| 4% Asian-American |
| 1% Native American |
| < 1% Other |
| Percentage of Students Qualifying for Free/Reduced-Price Lunch |
| 73% (in Teach For America placement schools) |
| Placements |
| 22% elementary teachers |
| 78% secondary teachers |
| 95% teach at a school with another corps member or alumnus |
K-12 grade level placements:
- general subject elementary
- specific subject secondary
- special education
- arts education
|