The Importance of Schools Having a Diverse Workforce

We hear about the achievement gap all the time. What we don’t hear much about is the diversity gap among educators. When I think back to my K-12 education, I only had a handful of teachers of color.  It is disappointing to think that makes me lucky, compared to all the black and brown students who go through their entire K-12 experience with only 1 or 0 teachers of color.  Would having more black teachers have improved our educational experiences?  According to the New Schools Venture Fund Report, exposure to a same-race teacher during elementary school reduces the high school dropout rate for economically disadvantaged Black male students by about 39 percent.

Too often being a student of color today means that you attend schools that are overcrowded and underfunded. While public school teachers are working harder than ever to build relationships and help students learn, the racial and cultural divide makes it much more difficult to understand and empathize.  Most of these teachers are white. While you might think that doesn’t matter, I can assure you, it does. Some of my favorite and best teachers were white, but the ones I formed the strongest bonds with, the ones I considered role models and who I yearned to impress, were black. I saw myself in them. Having the same skin color was so much more than a surface-level similarity. To me, it meant that we had shared experiences and culture. We knew what it was like to be black in America, for better or worse.

Imagine if black and brown students had adults in their schools who looked like them. Would these kids feel as I felt 20 years ago? Would they look up to these adults as leaders in life instead of just in the classroom? Would they be able to better connect with these black and brown administrators, teachers, guidance counselors, paraprofessionals, and other school support staff? Would kids feel seen? Would they envision themselves with future careers in education? According to the New Schools report, a student-teacher racial mismatch increases the likelihood that a student will be chronically absent by 3 percent.

Schools today need to change their recruitment strategies if they want more educators of color. While students of color are attending colleges, they are typically not education majors. Many times, black and brown children simply do not envision themselves working in schools. Maybe it’s because they didn’t love school, or maybe it’s because they never had a teacher that looked like them, so they don’t see that as a career path for themselves either.

In education, professionals often talk about windows and mirrors and how students need both to succeed. Mirrors allow students to see themselves, while windows allow them to see others. We have plenty of windows. We need more mirrors. Black and brown children deserve to have more teachers who look like them.

Coaching4Change (C4C) has created a diversity pipeline that attracts college students of color, places them in elementary and middle schools to serve as mentors for younger students, and introduces them to the idea of education as a future career. It’s a win-win-win. College students benefit because they get hands-on experiences in schools and earn college credit and/or money. Elementary and middle school kids benefit because they get one-on-one or small group academic and social support from college students who look like them. Schools benefit because they are giving their students what they need while also training future educators that look like their students.

By placing diverse, talented college students in schools, C4C is providing them with ideas about their future.  Our college students have a wide range of majors and are often interested in working with kids but typically do not pursue a degree in education. We need to find ways to motivate and inspire non-education majors to consider working in schools. And then we need to find ways to help them get certified as educators… by introducing them to jobs, graduate schools, Teach For America, and other teacher residency programs. 

We need to shift our focus to address this diversity gap among educators to create a more equitable education system for all students.  We know that educators have the largest impact on student achievement.  If the field of education is going to commit to creating a workforce that represents it’s student body, their recruitment efforts must change to include college students who are not enrolled in traditional educator pathways.  We have an opportunity to better meet the needs of all students, especially students of color.  Visit www.c4cinc.org to learn more about how your school/district can join the movement.