• 28 min
Episode 7: How Charleston County Is Reshaping the Teaching Workforce
Wake Up and Teach
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When Bill Briggman sat down with a group of Charleston County School District teachers in a local chamber of commerce office, he didn’t anticipate just how deeply those conversations would reshape policy. But that gathering marked the start of a movement—one driven not by top-down mandates, but by the voices of teachers themselves. As Chief Human Resource Officer for Charleston County School District (CCSD), Briggman is leading a workforce transformation that’s capturing the attention of educators and district leaders across the country. At Kelly Education, we’re proud to spotlight this kind of innovation, collaboration, and commitment to the people at the heart of education. Hear about it in full, on the latest episode of Wake Up and Teach.
Listening to teachers.
For Briggman, the turning point came when he realized that advocating for teacher pay increases year after year wasn’t enough. “I don’t need to be the voice anymore,” he recalled. “I need teachers to be the voice.” From that point forward, he established a compensation committee made up of teacher leaders, recruitment staff, and even school principals. The group met monthly, discussed financial realities, and built a shared strategy to present to the school board. Their first win? Extending the district’s pay scale to step 40, allowing veteran educators to continue progressing in compensation, and stay in the classroom longer. When school systems engage educators in designing their own futures, retention follows naturally. CCSD’s model serves as a blueprint for how to turn input into impact.
Innovating for equity and access.
Charleston County isn’t just paying teachers more, it’s also redefining who gets to become a teacher. In 2019, CCSD became one of only two districts in South Carolina approved to offer its own alternative certification program. Known as Teach Charleston, the program now certifies candidates across nearly every subject area, providing flexible and affordable pathways into the profession. The district also partners with local universities for certification support when needed.
This initiative has been pivotal in addressing two major issues: the teacher pipeline and subject-area shortages. For example, CCSD piloted a special salary schedule for high school math teachers in hard-to-staff schools. The result? All 44 math vacancies were filled in a single year, with nearly all hires being experienced educators.
Beyond pay.
Compensation is crucial, but so is culture. From mentoring programs for early-career educators to week-long professional development institutes funded through a community-supported black-tie gala, CCSD is building a system where teachers feel supported, recognized, and celebrated.
“We need to pay our teachers,” Briggman says, while also emphasizing the need to support them every day they’re in the building. That philosophy is baked into every part of the district’s operations, from onboarding and mentoring to year-round development and leadership opportunities. It's the kind of whole-person approach we at Kelly Education believe is essential for sustainable workforce health.
A model for integrating substitutes into the talent pipeline.
Charleston County’s approach extends to substitute teachers as well. With a 95%+ fill rate and a daily sub pool of over 1,800, the district treats substitute professionals not as a stopgap but as a vital component of its talent strategy. Subs are well-compensated, well-supported, and often inspired to become full-time teachers through programs like Teach Charleston. That model reflects a key belief we hold at Kelly Education: substitutes are more than temporary solutions. They are future teachers, community members, and crucial contributors to student success.
Creating a workforce for the future.
The most striking part of Briggman’s story is not any single policy, but the cumulative effect of dozens of deliberate, courageous decisions. Raising the starting salary from $36,000 in 2018 to $65,000 in 2025. Empowering teachers to co-lead compensation strategy. Building internal pipelines to certification. And doing it all with an unwavering belief that teachers are the most important investment a district can make.
At Kelly Education, we’re proud to support school districts like Charleston County that are reimagining what’s possible in education workforce strategy. As Briggman puts it, “The victory’s in the classroom.” And it starts by valuing the people who make that classroom work. Tune in to this episode of Wake Up and Teach to hear the full conversation.
Click here to listen to the entire episode of Wake Up And Teach, presented by Kelly Education.