Black students in North Carolina are equally likely to attend charter schools or traditional public schools, but black students attending charters are 50 percent more likely to have a black teacher than their peers in traditional district schools, according to a new study from Seth Gershenson, an associate professor of public affairs at American University in Washington.The study recommends district schools seek to hire more teachers of color.
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Democratic Candidates Emphasizing Diversity in Teaching
Several Democratic presidential candidates have named diversifying the country’s teaching force as a priority for their domestic policy agendas. That candidates are talking about the topic is a shift from past campaigns where the focus historically was on things like school accountability and teacher evaluations.
Three candidates – Julian Castro, Kamala Harris and Beto O’Rourke – have endorsed the residency model as one that the federal government should fund and support.
Castro’s plan calls forintegrating residencies into teacher preparation programs at Minority Serving Institutions (MSI). It also prioritizes residencies for high-need communities with direct grants for residents and mentors in these programs for up to five years.
O’Rourke has proposed a $500-million annual program to help colleges and universities partner with school districts to develop residency programs. Included in that would be $10,000 stipends for residents.
Harris has pledged to make a “multi-billion dollar investment” in programs that “help elevate the teaching profession and support principals and other school leaders. This includes high-quality teacher and principal residencies … and ‘Grow Your Own’ programs that help increase teacher diversity.” Harris, however, has not specifically said how much of that money would go toward residencies or what the details would look like.
Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and MSIs are also getting attention as possible avenues to improve diversity among teachers. O’Rouke has proposed $500 million per year in funding for “world class teacher academies” at HBCU and MSIs, while Harris has called for investing $2.5 billion in teacher prep programs at those schools.
Bernie Sanders, Pete Buttigieg, Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren, and Cory Booker have said they would address diversity by increasing funding to HBCUs and other MSIs, but have yet to put forth details on what that would entail.
In the piece, NCTR Board Member Travis Bristol is quoted noting that some of the proposals would require Congressional approval, which could be done through the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act.
In the News
The Content of Thinking Deans for Impact When it comes to content, effective educator-preparation programs should focus on depth rather than breadth.
Culturally Relevant Teaching and the Role of Teachers in Trump’s America The 74 This wide-ranging Q&A with researcher Gloria Ladson-Billings touches upon how her work is often misinterpreted, how to attract more people of color to the profession, and why we need to give students the analytical skills to back up their assertions.
Please note that the articles and events in the NCTR E-Blast do not reflect the opinions of our organization, but rather represent information that we believe will be relevant to you and your programs.
