DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) -- As Durham Public Schools welcomed students back Monday, district leaders are celebrating progress in reducing teacher vacancies while emphasizing the challenge of keeping educators in the classroom. School hallways may soon be filled with students, but Superintendent Dr. Anthony Lewis said the district has spent months focused on staffing classrooms ahead of the new school year. As the school year begins, Lewis said Durham Public Schools' long-term success will depend not only on how many teachers it hires, but how many it can support and retain.