these funds were distributed to school districts for their own local initiatives, including teacher
professional development to support the goals of the North Carolina RttT plan.
Ultimately, finding and paying for teachers’ time to engage in professional learning communities
and for coaches represent critical cost items, with the full benefit of teacher professional
development as it promotes retention not always well documented. Research on teacher retention
estimates that some districts in the U.S. invest $4,000-$5,000 annually in new teachers, resulting
in a lost investment of $20,000-$30,000 for each teacher when up to 40-50% of teachers leave
the profession within five years.