Research shows that access to a racially and culturally diverse teacher workforce is beneficial for all P-12 students, particularly for students of color, who often thrive in classrooms led by teachers who share their racial and cultural background. But unfortunately, the diversity of the national public school teacher workforce does not reflect the diversity of the student population — the majority of whom are of color. For many states, the lack of diversity means that most of its students attend schools and districts that do not have a single teacher of color on staff.
- In most (27 of 33) states that make student-level data available, approximately 1 in 10 Latino students attends a school without a single same-race teacher. The same is true for Black students in 18 states.
- In one-third of the states that make student-level data available (12 of 33), more than 1 in 3 students attend a school without a single teacher of color.
A new data and policy tool from Education Trust provides analysis and actionable recommendations for increasing teacher diversity in all 50 states.
The policy recommendations are specifically tailored for each state, providing guidance on enhancing existing policies, recommending targeted new efforts, and highlighting states doing well based on a set of evidence-backed criteria.
Take a few minutes and explore the data and policies for your state.
See: https://edtrust.org/educator-diversity/
