DEAR EDITOR: It seems that there is a thought in some education circles that says that there are no qualified teachers of color candidates. However, I beg to differ. There has been an increase in the recruitment efforts for teachers of color in a few states, districts, and schools around the United States. More teachers of color are entering the classrooms, but not enough. There are highly qualified teachers of color candidates out there who want to teach and are entering the classrooms, but are they staying?
The answer is no, many of them are not staying. This herein lies the purpose of my writing today. Educational systems need to do a better job of embracing teachers of color and supporting them so that they will stay in the profession and in the classrooms.
Research is increasingly showing that teacher diversity is a very important component for improving learning for all students and for closing the achievement gaps, particularly for students of color. The influence is especially noteworthy for students of color, who have higher test scores, are more likely to graduate from high school, and are more likely to be successful in college when they have had teachers of color at least once in grades three through five. Students of color see teachers of color as their role models and part of their school and learning support system. They also have less unexcused absences and are not likely to be frequently absent. They want to come to school, it’s enjoyable, and they feel included and safe.
I have nearly 20 years of experience in education, working in various roles as a teacher, instructional coach and interventionist, and as an assistant principal. I feel very fortunate that the majority of those years have been in schools with diverse staffs and with immediate supervisors who are and have been men and women of color. In two of the systems where I worked the superintendents were people of color and one of my immediate supervisors who was an African-American, years later became superintendent. They are the reason I stayed – intentional support, retention, and hiring of a diverse team.
For me, working in these environments I felt I was seen, understood, supported and appreciated. I am so grateful for those (and current) experiences and the collective of people who contributed to making those experiences possible for me as well as my co-workers who were educators of color.
Schools systems that employ significant numbers of people of color are sending a strong message they value, respect, and are open to the diversity of people and their ideas.
Being in those environments, seeing and working with others who look like me gave a sense of belonging, that I mattered, and I was surrounded with people who understood me as a person. This makes a big difference for every teacher. I am so grateful and thankful to be currently working in this type of environment… an environment that values diversity and employs a diverse staff.
Many of the teachers of color entering the classroom are highly educated and capable. They have gifts and talents that they bring to various educational systems. For schools systems that say they cannot find qualified teachers of color, there needs to be a genuine unbiased effort to recruit teachers of color with the goal and intention to retain teachers of color.
There is a win-win if more school systems chose to genuinely embrace this call to action to hire and retain more teachers of color. According to several research studies, diverse teaching staffs have great potential for contributing to increasing achievement levels for black and brown students as well as decreasing the absenteeism and suspension rates of the same students.
I am so grateful and thankful to have the opportunity to have a positive impact on and to offer positive motivation to all children, especially those who look like me.
— Bridget Allison, via letters@SentinelColorado.com