From the brief: In this research brief, we examine teacher and principal attrition from North Carolina public schools (NCPS) during the COVID-19 pandemic. This work is motivated by concerns about the effect of the pandemic on educator stress and burn out and by the potential for increased educator attrition to adversely impact students and schools. By comparing attrition rates during the pandemic to attrition rates in the three prior years, we find that:

(1) Exit and transfer rates are generally lower for both teachers and principals during the pandemic;

(2) Older and retirement eligible educators were more likely to exit NCPS during the pandemic;

(3) Reductions in teacher departures were larger in schools serving more students of color and more economically disadvantaged students; and

(4) Educator departures were related to whether the school was offering remote or in-person instruction. Our results are consistent with studies from several other states, where teacher attrition is also down during COVID-19.

It is important to note that the absence of attrition does not mean the absence of a problem. Studies show that educators are feeling stress and burn out. They will need supports from district and state officials as North Carolina emerges from the pandemic.