BEGINNING, OUT OF STATE, &
INTERNATIONAL TEACHERS

Welcome Professional Educators!

North Carolina sets the perfect stage for your fresh ideas and enthusiasm. For the past decade, North Carolina has hired approximately 10,000 new teachers who are highly qualified for our 21st century classroom goals. We offer teachers excellent working conditions, an abundance of opportunities for professional growth, competitive salaries and strong support from the NC Department of Public Instruction. With a diverse economy, an emphasis on technology and a superior quality of life, North Carolina has become one of the fastest growing states in the country. We are thrilled that you have chosen to make North Carolina your home!

Do I Need a NC Professional Educator's License?

Yes! Beginning, Out of State, & International Teachers all need to be licensed by North Carolina.

What are the Professional Educator's License Qualifications?

  • Standard Professional 1 (SP1) Professional Educator's Licenses are intended for teachers with 0-2 years of teaching experience, and are valid for three years. To be issued a SP1 Professional Educator's License, an individual must have:
    • completed a state approved teacher education program from a regionally accredited college or university, or
    • completed another state's approved alternative route to licensure, met the federal requirements to be designated as "Highly Qualified," and earned a bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited college.
  • Standard Professional 2 (SP2) Professional Educator's Licenses are intended for teachers with 3 or more years of teaching experience, and are valid for five years. Teachers who are fully licensed and "Highly Qualified" in another state who have three or more years of teaching experience in another state AND who meet NC's Praxis testing requirements OR have National Board Certification are issued the SP2 Professional Educator's license.

How Can I Get a NC Professional Educator's License?

Follow these Steps.

How Can I Apply for Teaching Positions?

There is not a single point of contact for all public school employment in North Carolina. We have 115 Local Education Agencies (LEAs) and 100 charter schools, and each is a different employer. The best place to start your search is the Employment web page. Or you can contact (see below) a LEA or a Charter School directly to get employment information. Visit the Recruitment web page to get information on Job Fairs, Beginning Teacher Support Resources, and more.

LEA (school system) contact information, including Personnel Administrators and Principals can be found in EDDIE. Use the LEA Personnel Report (located under the Reports Menu) to obtain contact information for all of the LEAs, or use the Search or Selection boxes to navigate to an individual LEA for their staff information, or to a school for their principal information. For help with LEA or school information, please go to the EDDIE Information page.

Charter school contact information is also in EDDIE, or can be found on the Office of Charter Schools website: Charter School Contacts.

OTHER RESOURCES

Educational Partners International, LLC (EPI): Designated by the US Dept. of State as a J-1 exchange visitor program sponsor, EPI provides highly-qualified international teachers with the visa sponsorship and support needed to teach critical needs subjects in NC. EPI assists teachers and schools with visa processing, licensure, professional and cultural development, and more. They provide a unique cultural exchange program with emphasis on support.

Visiting International Faculty Program (VIF): Since 1989, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction has worked with VIF to welcome teachers from around the world to our state. Today, hundreds of North Carolina schools host over one thousand VIF participants from 48 different countries.

International Teacher Exchange Services: Designated by the U.S. Dept of State (Exchange Visitor Program), ITES sponsors and supports highly-qualified international teachers for critical needs subjects in North Carolina. In addition to being highly effective in their professional field, ITES teachers bring the world directly into our classrooms by sharing their knowledge and cultures with our students.

Regionally Accrediting Agencies / Institutions

For more information, please visit the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA).

  • SACS - Southern Association Of Colleges And Schools
    • Accredits schools in Alabama (AL), Florida (FL), Georgia (GA), Kentucky (KY), Louisiana (LA), Mississippi (MS), North Carolina (NC), South Carolina (SC), Tennessee (TN), Texas (TX), Virginia (VA)
  • MSCHE - Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools
    • Accredits schools in Delaware (DE), District of Columbia (DC), Maryland (MD), New Jersey (NJ), New York (NY), Puerto Rico (PR), Virgin Islands (VI)
  • NEASC-CIHE - New England Association of Schools & Colleges
    • Accredits schools in Connecticut (CT), Maine (ME), Massachusetts (MA), New Hampshire (NH), Rhode Island (RI), Vermont (VT)
  • NCA-HLC - North Central Association of Schools & Colleges
    • Accredits schools in Arizona (AZ), Arkansas (AR), Colorado (CO), Illinois (IL), Iowa (IA), Kansas (KS), Michigan (MI), Nebraska (NE), New Mexico (NM), North Dakota (ND), Ohio (OH), South Dakota (SD), West Virginia (WV), Wisconsin (WI), Wyoming (WY)
  • NWCCU - Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges
    • Accredits schools in Alaska (AK), Idaho (ID), Montana (MT), Nevada (NV), Oregon (OR), Utah (UT), and Washington (WA)
  • WASC-ACCJC and WASC-ACSCU- Western Association of Schools and Colleges
    • Accredits schools in California (CA), Hawaii (HI), Guam, American Samoa, Northern Marianas, Trust Territory of the Pacifica Islands