New Hanover County Schools to offer incentive pay to teachers, staff at low performing schools
NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — New Hanover County Schools is looking to incentivize teachers and staff who work at low-performing schools in the district.
Dr. Patrice Faison, chief academic officer for the district, presented data at Tuesday night’s Board of Education meeting on the low-performing schools in the district for the 2022-23 school year.
Of the 40 schools in the district, 12 of them are considered low-performing, including Alderman Elementary, Blair Elementary, College Park Elementary, Forest Hills Global Elementary, Rachel Freeman Elementary, Holly Shelter Middle, International School at Gregory, Career Readiness Academy at Mosley, Myrtle Grove Middle, Sniples Elementary Academy of Art and Design, Williston Middle, and Wrightsboro Elementary.
Low-performing schools are schools with a School Performance Grade of D or F and do not exceed the growth expectation.
In an effort to improve these schools, the district plans to provide additional support tailored to each school’s individual needs.
According to Faison, low-performing schools face a lot of challenges but the biggest is recruiting and retaining quality staff.
“What is the major issue when people ask the question? This is the major issue. We cannot have a revolving door because you think about the training and professionalism you do and the door’s revolving, you have to keep doing it and it doesn’t stay and it doesn’t build,” Faison said.
New Hanover County Schools Comprehensive Support and Improvement Incentive Plan (From: NHCS)
To attract more teachers to those schools, the district has prepared a plan to offer teachers yearly incentive pay for recruitment and retention as well as effectiveness.
The incentive plan is currently only offered for Freeman and Forest Hills Elementary Schools. This is because those two schools qualify for Comprehensive Support and Improvement funding, which is a 3-year federal grant available to the lowest-performing five percent of all schools receiving Title I funds in NC.
