A new scholarship program at North Carolina Central University is paying for local teachers to become principals.
It includes 16 educators from across the state. All currently teach elementary, middle or high school students in rural districts.
The scholarship will cover the teachers’ master’s degrees and give money to their school districts to supplement their paychecks.
In the first year, the educators will continue to teach in their classrooms while taking online courses at NC Central.
The next will be spent as principals-in-training in their school districts. They will learn how to set a vision for a public school, address chronic absenteeism and other roles of school leadership.
The program is being funded by a $1.5 million dollar partnership with The Innovation Project (TIP), a nonprofit education organization. It includes eight rural school districts: Asheboro, Edgecombe, Elizabeth City-Pasquotank, Mt. Airy, Lexington, Sampson, Vance, and Warren County Schools.
According to a 2023 report from the National Rural Education Association, North Carolina has the second highest rural school student population in the U.S.
However, the state ranks 43rd in how much state revenue it provides for schools. North Carolina also falls below the U.S. average in rural instructional expenditures — spending $6,099 per student compared to $7,174 nationally.
Sharon Contreras, CEO of TIP, said many rural school districts struggle to offer competitive salaries for principals.
“It is incumbent upon us to do something to address the teaching vacancies and the leadership vacancies in our rural districts,” Contreras said. “(They) are having difficulty offering competitive salary supplements and also may not have the cultural capital to draw them into their communities.”
Contreras hopes that the scholarship program will help boost the talent pipeline for principals in rural school districts.
“The partnership between TIP and NC Central continues the legacy of serving underserved students,” Contreras said. “Most of the participants are people of color and we know from research that BIPOC principals are more likely to work in high need schools, which can help support the most vulnerable students.”
At the end of the program, the teachers will be offered assistant principal or principal positions within their school districts. They are all required to commit to five years of service in North Carolina after they complete their degrees.