Average starting teacher salary in South Carolina in 2000-2001:
$26,123

Average teacher salary in South Carolina in 1999-2000:
$36,081

Projected average teacher salary in South Carolina in 2000-2001:
$37,772

Southeastern average teacher salary:
$37,447

National average teacher salary in 1998-99:
$40,582

There are 44,449 certified teachers in South Carolina.

In South Carolina, between 8,000 and 10,000 additional teachers will be needed in the next five to seven years.

For the 2000-2001 school year, the State Board of Education has designated the following subject areas as having a critical shortage of teachers:

• Art
• Business Education
• Early Childhood Education
• Elementary Education
• English/Language Arts
• Family and Consumer Science
• Foreign Languages
• Guidance Counselors
• Industrial Technology
• Mathematics
• Media Specialists
• Music
• Science
• Special Education (all areas)
• Speech Clinicians

On average, one-third of teachers in South Carolina leave the profession after just five years in the classroom.

In 1998, the average South Carolina teacher had 13.3 years of experience. The median age of teachers in South Carolina is 42 years old.

As of September 2000, there were 368 teaching vacancies in South Carolina schools.

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