DIVERSIFYING TEACHING WORK FORCES

In 2014, for the first time in U.S. public schools’ history, the percentage of Hispanic, African American, Asian, and other students of color exceeded the percentage of white students, “creating a majority-minority system that reflects the mosaic of cultures, experiences, languages, and religions that characterize our nation” (Hrabowski & Sanders, 2019) . In stark contrast, an overwhelming number of their teachers—84 percent — are white (Feistritzer et al., Profile of Teachers in the U.S. 2011). In fact, more than 40 percent of public schools in the U.S. do not have a single teacher of color (Sleeter and Thao, “Diversifying the Teaching Force,” pp. 3-8). This student-teacher diversity gap, also referred to as the demographic gap, has drawn increased attention from educators and parents over the past three decades. New Jersey schools largely mirror this national demographic diversity gap.

It must be noted that one of my personal areas of research deals with similar types of gaps that are just as pronounced in the field of educational leadership in New Jersey (Library of Congress copyright—Jacquelin, 2017). There are direct correlations to leadership knowledge regarding equity and access and the teachers who are recruited and retained in a school district. While there has been a rather dynamic process of racial and ethnic change in many of New Jersey’s school districts, leaders have yet to raise the numbers of their teaching staff members who accurately reflect the backgrounds of their student populations. It must be recognized that while many white teachers work effectively with students of all backgrounds, it is beneficial for all children to have opportunities to interact with teachers who embody the nation’s cultural and racial diversity. All leaders, one would hope, desire to hire and retain the very best teaching candidates. The question becomes: In which pools are such leaders fishing?

Research consistently demonstrates that all students benefit from working with teachers who are outside of the normal distribution of K-12 educators, represented as approximately seventy-four to eighty-four percent white females. Hence, it is critical that all educators, the community, and the students engage in this research via discussion and study groups. A key concept to be studied is that of implicit bias. It is surprisingly effective and simple to do. One study found that merely informing teachers about their stereotypes closed gaps in grading (Miller, 2018). Others have shown similar effects regarding discipline of students; thus, these are incredibly important conversations to have. A wide variety of stakeholders should also, with proper training, participate on hiring committees as legally permissible. Superintendents in New Jersey should be urged to forge strong connections with university liaisons in charge of teacher preparation programs. On a larger scale, superintendents can work on policy issues at the state or even national levels. Additionally, superintendents can work with stakeholders to build high-retention, supportive pathways to teaching; create proactive hiring and induction strategies; and improve school teaching conditions through improved school leadership. Perhaps most importantly, superintendents can ensure that every single teacher employed in their districts, regardless of ethnic or racial backgrounds, honors and values every single learner who enters the school doors each school day. Perhaps then, some of these very kids may one day elect to become teachers themselves.