From the brief: "Engaged and effective educators are essential to North Carolina's COVID recovery efforts. As such, since the summer of 2020, we have studied the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the attrition and hiring of educators in North Carolina. Our previous analyses showed that educator attrition was either stable (teachers) or on a downward trajectory (principals) prior to the pandemic. During the initial months of the pandemic, fewer educators left North Carolina public schools (NCPS). This was consistent with trends in other states and with patterns in teacher retention during economic downturns. However, educator attrition in North Carolina increased sharply over the 2020-21 and 2021-22 school years. High levels of educator turnover may adversely impact student recovery and put additional strain on remaining educators. As such, it is important to continue to track and address educator attrition. With this brief, we update our analyses to assess the current state - as of September 2023 - of teacher and principal attrition in NCPS."