10/27/2019
We Need More Teachers of Color: The Value of Hiring and Retaining A Diverse Educator Workforce
Here are two quick facts:
(1) The nation’s K–12 student population is rapidly becoming more diverse.
(2) There is a dire need for teachers of color in classrooms across the United States.
First, let's take a closer look at student diversity. As of the 2015–2016 school year, white students are no longer the majority in public schools in the U.S. This demographic shift was documented in the online journal Education Week back in 2014, in which reporter Lesli Maxwell made the following observation:
The enrollment milestone underscores a host of challenges for educators, including more students living in poverty, more who will require English-language instruction, and more whose life experiences will differ from those of their teachers, who remain overwhelmingly white.
This brings us to the issue of teacher diversity, or the lack thereof. As noted in the above quote, most teachers in the U.S.—around 80%—are white. While there are many reasons for this, an important piece of the puzzle involves the racial and cultural barriers that can both block people of color from becoming teachers in the first place and make the job untenable if they do become licensed educators.
According to a 2016 Huffington Post article by Rebecca Klein:
Minority teachers are more likely to work in schools with high concentrations of students of color. But because of unconscious and overt biases … school administrators do not always value those teachers’ experiences the way they should. This especially stings when those teachers know they bring unique perspective to the classroom that can help students who look like them.
Adding to this complex mix of quickly changing demographics and persistent workplace issues, the recent strikes and walkouts by teachers in Los Angeles, Oklahoma, West Virginia, and beyond speak to the on-the-job stress experienced by many school-based staff, and also highlight the decreases in public education funding that have impacted communities across the nation.
Despite these obstacles, a Learning Policy Institute report put together by University of Pennsylvania professor Richard Ingersoll and University of Delaware professor Henry May drew the following conclusion, as summarized by Klein:
Since 1987, there has been a big increase in the percentage of minority teachers?even outpacing the growth in the levels of minority students. From 1987 to 2013, the share of teachers who are non-white increased from 12% to 17%.
However, Klein pointed out, the fact that teachers of color tend to leave the profession at a higher rate than their white peers leads to a diminished pool of experienced, diverse educators and compounds the pressing need to both find teachers of color and keep them in the classroom.
Let’s consider some of the ways in which administrators, policymakers, and other advocates can approach this issue with an eye toward making positive changes.
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Acknowledge that teachers of color make a difference
Another recent Learning Policy Institute report underscored the value of increasing teacher diversity, calling diversity “a very important strategy for improving learning for students of color and for closing achievement gaps.” Yet, as previously indicated by Klein, “unconscious and overt biases” often prevent teachers of color from receiving credit where credit is due?an unfortunate reality of which administrators should be aware and work to counteract. -
Note that white students benefit from teacher diversity, too
In a 2015 Education Week forum on teachers of color hosted by Larry Ferlazzo, noted education professor Gloria Ladson-Billings of the University of Wisconsin stated, “I want to suggest that there is something that may be even more important than Black students having Black teachers and that is White students having Black teachers! It is important for White students to encounter Black people who are knowledgeable and hold some level of authority over them.” Writer Melinda D. Anderson has similarly argued that teachers of color can significantly help disrupt institutional racism. -
Openly recruit teachers of color?and provide ongoing tools for success
An effort initiated in New York City under the leadership of Mayor Bill de Blasio and the Department of Education that involves recruiting “1,000 Black, Latino and Asian men” into teacher licensure programs aims to better serve the diverse student population in the city’s public school system. Further, these recruits will receive ongoing support and development in the form of workshops, conferences, and more. -
Establish system-wide support
Last year, Emily McCaffrey of the University of California-Berkeley argued for more institutional support for teachers of color in a piece for the Berkeley Public Policy Journal. After pointing out that higher teacher turnover rates among non-white educators both fuels the shortage of such teachers and has been shown to negatively impact students, McCaffrey advocated for a heightened investment in the dual elements of overall workplace culture and individual teachers’ daily work lives as a way to keep educators of color in the profession for as long as possible. -
Focus on relationship-building among educators...
Teachers of color often report feeling professionally isolated, according to a 2018 post on the Harvard Graduate School of Education’s website. The post's author, Leah Shafer, relayed findings from two recent studies that indicated teachers of color are often solely tasked with tackling issues of racism and inequity at school. Not only does this create burnout and frustration, it also unfairly places the burden of righting institutional wrongs squarely on their shoulders, which can feel particularly “isolating and debilitating” for non-white teachers placed in schools that lack a diverse teaching staff. -
...as well as between teachers and students
Shafer also warned against taking a trial-by-fire approach by assigning a newly licensed teacher of color to a class full of challenging students. Instead, Shafer advocated for providing copious support, praise, and other forms of reinforcement to not only acknowledge these teachers but actively set them up for success.
While teaching can be a challenge regardless of an educator's race, it is important to recognize that teachers of color often face additional barriers and could thus use additional support. After all, research has shown that all students stand to benefit greatly from their presence.
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