Teaching may be the next big career opportunity for young people.

State schools reported more teachers leaving, more vacancies and more teachers hired to fill vacancies.

That’s the finding of the SC Center for Educator Recruitment, Retention, and Advancement.

Compared to last year, about 7,300 teachers did not return this school year, an increase of nearly 10%.

That did not apply to all 5 Lexington County districts.

Lexington District 3 in Batesburg-Leesville had no vacancies, reported spokesperson Mackenzie Taylor.

“Historically, we do not have many, if any, classroom vacancies year-to-year aside from our retirees,” she said.

That compared to about 100 vacancies in the larger District 2 in Cayce, Springdale and West Columbia.

“Except last year, when the end of TERI led to increased vacancies, our vacancies at the end of each school year over the past 5 years have roughly stayed around 100 teachers,” said spokesperson Dawn Kujawa.

“Among 1st-year teachers, the number of departures in that typical 100 has tracked fairly low in that same period – maybe 5-7 teachers.

District 2 concentrates on digital recruiting and billboards, and a $2,500 signing bonus in critical-needs areas.

Kujawa said the number of applicants is down as part of the trend of fewer people entering education.

“We have mentor programs to support new teachers, pairing them with more experienced teachers, along with flexible training opportunities targeted to their particular needs,” she said.

“We partner with the University of South Carolina on their programs to support new teachers.”

The Center for Educator Recruitment reported 27% of teachers went to another SC district and more than 5,300 teachers are no longer teaching in any SC schools.

35% of teachers who did not return to the same districts had 5 or fewer years of experience. This was slightly lower than the year before, likely due to more retirees.

Retirees were 26% of all departures compared to 20% the last school year.

Students finishing teacher education programs fell 32% since the 2012-13 academic year, the center found.

As a result, districts hired nearly 400 international teachers. In 2013, roughly 100 were hired.

The SC Annual Educator Supply and Demand Report is available at https:// www.cerra.org/supply-and-demand.html .