FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 20, 2025
Dudley Flood Center Releases Tools and Impact Report to Advance Educator Diversity and Equity in North Carolina
Raleigh, NC — The Dudley Flood Center for Educational Equity and Opportunity recently released three powerful resources designed to accelerate North Carolina’s progress toward building and sustaining a diverse, well-supported educator workforce.
The DRIVE Progress Monitoring Dashboard, Teacher Pay Equity Issue Brief, and the DRIVE Year One Impact Report translates the vision of the 2019 DRIVE Task Force into measurable action. Together, these resources provide transparent data, meaningful policy insight, and a comprehensive look at progress made in the first year of the DRIVE Coalition’s work, while charting a clear course for the future.
Meeting a Critical Need
Despite North Carolina’s public school population being 57% students of color, the state’s teacher workforce remains disproportionately white. Representation matters: research shows that students thrive academically, socially, and emotionally when taught by educators who share or understand their cultural backgrounds. Without targeted, data-driven action, these gaps will persist, limiting opportunities for the very students the education system is meant to serve.
“Representation in our schools isn’t just about fairness — it’s about ensuring every student sees their potential reflected in those who teach them,” said Dr. Deanna Townsend-Smith, Senior Director of the Dudley Flood Center. “These resources give educators, policymakers, and communities the tools to act with urgency and precision.”
The Resources
DRIVE Progress Monitoring Dashboard — A centralized, equity-focused data system designed and maintained by the Flood Center to track progress on key metrics related to educator diversity. This interactive dashboard currently measures:
- Overall Demographics of teachers and school leaders by race/ethnicity.
Forthcoming measures include:
- Recruitment and Retention trends, including attrition, mobility, and vacancy rates, plus workforce diversity changes over time.
- Educator Preparation Program Outcomes, such as enrollment, licensure pass rates, and early-career retention.
Updated annually, the tool provides district-level filters and visualizations to inform policy, guide hiring, and support advocacy.
Teacher Pay Equity Issue Brief — An in-depth analysis exposing structural inequities in North Carolina’s teacher compensation system. It details how outdated salary structures and disparities in local pay supplements disadvantage educators in under-resourced districts — especially in Leandro-designated counties — and offers actionable, equity-centered policy recommendations.
DRIVE Year One Impact Report — A comprehensive look at the first year of the DRIVE Coalition, documenting milestones such as the formation of regional leadership committees, engagement with more than 200 partners, the launch of the annual DRIVE Summit, and early policy influence. The report highlights local exemplars, legislative monitoring, and infrastructure improvements that set the stage for continued statewide momentum.
Carrying Forward the DRIVE Vision
By integrating real-time data, targeted policy solutions, and transparent reporting, these resources are designed to accelerate the DRIVE Coalition’s mission — ensuring that every North Carolina student, regardless of zip code, has access to excellent, diverse educators.
“These are not just reports — they are living tools for systemic change,” said Townsend-Smith. “The DRIVE Task Force laid the blueprint; now, with these resources, we’re building the future.”
To learn more about the DRIVE Coalition, see a list of events and resources, or get involved please visit https://floodcenter.org/drive and join us in the fight for equity, access, and opportunity in education.
For media inquiries, please contact Deanna Townsend-Smith at 919-781-6833 x114 or dtownsend-smith@ncforum.org.
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About the Dudley Flood Center for Educational Equity and Opportunity
The Dudley Flood Center for Educational Equity & Opportunity (Flood Center) serves as a hub to identify and connect organizations, networks, and leaders to address issues of equity, access, and opportunity in education across North Carolina. Leaning on the 70+ years of experience and wisdom of our namesake Dr. Dudley E. Flood, the Flood Center works collaboratively to take action toward addressing issues of systemic racism by advocating for structural changes in policy and practice to build an equitable education system that meets the social, emotional, and academic needs of NC’s diverse student population. Specifically, the Dudley Flood Center exists to create an equitable education system by addressing the systemic inequities plaguing the educational system that limit opportunity and access for PK – 12 students and educators. Follow updates from the Flood Center on LinkedIn, Facebook and online at https://floodcenter.org/.
About the Public School Forum of NC
Since 1986, the Public School Forum of North Carolina has been an indispensable and nonpartisan champion of public schools and the most trusted source in the state for research and analysis on vital education issues. We bring together leaders from business, education and government to study education issues, develop ideas, seek consensus, and ultimately inform and shape education policy. We do that through research, policy work, innovative programs, advocacy, and continuing education for educators and policymakers. Follow us on Twitter @theNCForum and visit our website at www.ncforum.org.