TeachRight USA Founded to Address Teacher Shortages; Announces First Executive Director

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COLUMBIA, SC --- The Charter Institute at Erskine is taking action to address teacher shortages in South Carolina through the formation of a new nonprofit, TeachRight USA (TRUSA). TeachRight USA recently welcomed Tracey Williams as the first Executive Director.

At the beginning of the 2022-2023 school year, there were over 1400 teacher vacancies (according to CERRA) in the state of South Carolina. This number is growing exponentially as fewer people are entering the teaching profession and many veteran teachers are exiting the profession. This is particularly problematic in school districts where there is a greater minority population. Unless action is taken, the achievement gaps between our most disadvantaged and vulnerable students and their peers will continue to grow.

These problems are what TeachRight USA aims to address through proposing a new pathway to attract and retain talent in education, maintaining accountability for the work in the classroom and student impact. TRUSA’s approach includes drastically reducing the 4-7 years of education that is currently required before a teacher can enter a classroom to increase the number of prospective teachers and generate an effective teacher recruitment pool. TRUSA’s work has already begun with the hiring of their first Executive Director, Ms. Tracey Williams.

With over 20 years of experience in the field of education, Williams brings a unique perspective on the future of education to the role of TeachRight USA Executive Director. As a public-school teacher and administrator, she has observed firsthand how the teacher shortage affects existing teachers and students. As an AdvancEd (Cognia) district diagnostic team member, Williams knows that this is not only a problem in South Carolina, but in some of the largest school districts across the country.

Williams is a graduate of Clemson University where she earned a B.S. and a M.ED. She earned her second graduate degree from American Public University in Educational Leadership. Williams’ expertise extends to traditional school districts, business educational needs, and higher education programs. Williams previously contributed to the success of South Carolina’s virtual schools and has always taken an innovative approach to solving educational problems.

The Charter Institute at Erskine is the fastest-growing charter school authorizer in South Carolina, which serves 24 schools and 24,000 students across the state. They have first-hand experience with the need and urgency to create a solution and will support Williams and TRUSA in executing this initiative. For more information about Teach Right USA, please visit www.teachrightusa.org. For more information about the Institute, please visit www.erskinecharters.org.