Social studies teacher Amber Young helps sophomore Anya Suttun with an American History assignment. Young interviewed for her teaching position in August but wasn’t officially hired until late September. Photo by Brayden Merlos-Campos.
By Dahlia Ponce Santos & Brayden Merlos-Campos
As students began their seventh week of school, some continue to attend classes without a full-time teacher.
Riverside still has openings for an English, CTE, and science teacher. All three classes have had substitutes thus far.
“I’m feeling disappointed that there wasn’t a teacher because I was looking forward to start the projects and, like, do class, you know?” said sophomore Jackie Rivera.
Rivera has yearbook class in room 146, which was previously occupied by English teacher Shirley Kelly.
Some students have felt disappointed by starting the year without a permanent teacher, but others have felt less affected by the vacancies.
“I think it’s a small impact because it’s the same sub every class, so it’s kinda like she is the permanent teacher,” said sophomore Natalie Cornejo, who is taking business, law, and ethics class in room 144.
Throughout the state and nation, teaching shortages are increasing.
Last year, the state of North Carolina had 6,700 teacher vacancies, according to NCDPI. That’s a vacancy rate of 7.4%. The subjects most affected are EC, math, and science. Statewide. North Carolina School Superintendents Association data show K‑12 teacher vacancies fell from 2,155 in 2024‑25 to 2,009.1 in 2025‑26, a 6.8% drop. The rate has steadily decreased after reaching over 12% after Covid in 2021.
At the federal level, vacancies remain a persistent issue, but the data is harder to collect.
“States must identify teacher shortage areas (e.g., special education, science, mathematics), but there is no publicly available national data that captures the number of teachers who are not fully certified or unfilled teaching positions in each state,” according to a 2025 research report published by the Learning Policy Institute.
According to district data, Durham Public Schools employs 2,410 teachers. This fall, DPS began the school year with 58 unfilled positions. The district’s 2.4% vacancy rate is well below the state’s.
“58 vacancies is amazing. Last year at this time we had over 200,” said Kadeidra Smoots, senior executive director of Human Resources for Durham Public Schools.
Hiring a teacher involves multiple steps before any candidate can officially be hired. First, a candidate attends a job interview at the school. After a hiring manager – usually a school’s principal – recommends someone for a position, DPS Human Resources begins reviewing the candidate.
“Once that recommendation is sent, it goes to the area coordinator, staffing coordinator for that particular position or school,” said Smoots.
From there, HR reviews the candidate’s application, checks two telephone references, and begins the background check process. Candidates are also responsible for submitting required documents. If they live out of state it can take longer, which Smoots said can sometimes slow down the process.
“Sometimes that could be a challenge or a stumbling block to get them vetted,” she said.
For certified teaching positions, the candidate’s license must also be cleared before DPS determines their pay and sends an offer. If the candidate accepts, their name is then sent to the school board for approval.
“The board then has to approve it,” Smoots said. “Once the board approves it, they get another email saying, ‘Hey, you’ve been approved by the board. Here’s your start date,’ and then we go from there.”
The hiring process is generally the same across local districts. DPS offers a local salary supplement and healthcare options, but if another school district is offering the same candidate other incentives, they often go for the better offer.
Job candidates can get a teaching position through several different pathways. One way is to complete the Teacher Performance Assessment (EdTPA), which takes 2-3 years. They may also complete a master’s program before entering the workforce.
Another option is to start full-time, earn licensure credits as they work and gain experience. Regardless of the pathway, all teaching candidates must complete the EdTPA before becoming a licensed teacher.
The EdTPA assessment includes a comprehensive portfolio that candidates must submit for review.
“As long as you complete your EdTPA, you can become a teacher, but it is a lot of work for those two years,” said assistant principal Kwame Stith.
Stith oversees Riverside’s social studies and science departments. Recently, social studies teacher Amber Young applied for one of Riverside’s open positions.
Principal Gloria Woods Weeks reached out to Young directly through the DPS applicant portal.
After an interview, Woods-Weeks offered her the position, but she wasn’t able to immediately start. Riverside’s administrative team recommended her for hire, and the district handled the rest of the process.
Though Woods Weeks wanted her to start on the first day of school, the hiring process took longer than expected.
“The process was very, very long, in my opinion,” said Young. But also, what can I do, you know? I turned in everything that they needed me to turn in as soon as they asked for it.”
After waiting several weeks, Young began following up with HR through email. She said reaching out helped move the process forward, and she received everything she needed the following day.
“Sometimes, putting your file or your case, or just you as a person, at the top of somebody’s email thread is a good idea,” Young said.
Young said she had been waiting since Aug. 21 and received the rest of her paper work that was needed on September 18. Once she had received everything that was needed she submitted it that exact same day.
She acknowledged that the delay was not entirely HR’s fault because the department handles employees both leaving and entering the district.
“They work hard, and there’s not a lot of them, but there’s also a lot of us,” Young said. “They’re not just handling teachers that are trying to get in. They’re also handling teachers that are offboarding and getting out.”
Assistant principal Tammy Patterson, who is helping with the hiring of the open English and CTE positions, said Riverside has recommended an English teacher for hire and the candidate is now working with HR.
“We’re looking really good in terms of English,” Patterson said during a Pirates’ Hook interview on Oct. 2.. “For CTE,we’re still going through the building process of getting interviews.”
As the school and district work to fill the three remaining open positions, many kids are still asking where their teacher is and when will they get one
“I definitely think some probably enjoy having, I guess, a free period,” said junior Genesis Palacios Garcia, who is new to the yearbook class. “But I think some people also just want to participate. They signed up for yearbook, so they want to get the activities that you would normally get if you take a yearbook class.”
