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Duplin County highlights stronger retention for beginning teachers, expands mentoring and testing support
Summary
District staff reported improved retention of beginning teachers and detailed supports: mentoring (mentors paid $100/month, ~46 current mentors, estimated need for ~16 more), district testing help for edTPA with a reported 100% pass rate among those who attended support sessions, and plans for individualized PD and licensing assistance.
Duplin County Schools presented its Beginning Teacher (BT) support program at the Oct. 7 board meeting, reporting improved retention and outlining mentorship, professional development and licensure supports.
Miss Ross, the district’s BT coordinator, told the board that the program supported 183 beginning teachers in 2023–24, 164 in 2024–25 and 119 in 2025–26. She said the district increased its BT retention from 77% at the end of 2022–23 to 88% at the end of 2023–24 and is currently reporting a 94% retention rate for the cohort referenced in the presentation. Ross attributed the retention gains to stronger relationships, individualized coaching, consistent mentor assignments and district-level testing support for licensure requirements such as edTPA.
Ross said 40% of BTs in 2024–25 held an initial professional license, and conversion rates from alternative licensure pathways improved from 13.5% to 16% between earlier years, with projected conversions of about 26% for the current year. She emphasized that many beginning teachers come through alternative pathways and that the district provides individualized licensure guidance and follow-up meetings.
The presentation laid out mentoring structures and supports: state policy requires specified mentor contact frequencies (BT‑1 weekly, BT‑2 twice monthly, BT‑3 monthly); the district has assigned mentors at the school level and pays mentors a stipend (Ross said the mentor rate is $100 per month). Ross said the district currently has about 46 mentors and that recalculations indicated approximately 16 additional mentors would be needed to meet demand in some schools.
Ross also described district testing supports: the district ran edTPA support sessions with eight beginning teachers participating and reported a 100% pass rate among those who attended the support sessions. She said the district provides district-level foundations-of-reading and math testing supports and coordinates professional development days in partnership with local colleges and veteran teachers.
Board members asked about mentor capacity, professional development scheduling and potential costs. Ross said mentor pay and additional mentor needs could be calculated and shared with the board; no new funding was approved during the meeting.
