Leveraging State Policy to Support District Practices to Increase Educator Diversity

• In Event: Pathways, Practices, and Policies for Increasing Educator Diversity in K-12 Schools

Abstract

Over the next decade the K–12 student population will continue to become less White and more diverse (National Center for Education Statistics, 2022). In 2010, less than eight percent of educators in one northeastern state identified as a race other than White, despite students of color making up nearly 40 percent of the state’s K–12 student population. Research suggests that a diverse educator workforce contributes to increased academic and prosocial outcomes for all students, particularly students of color, English language learners, and students impacted by poverty (Warner and Duncan, 2019). In this context, states are increasingly prioritizing increasing educator diversity as a high leverage strategy for advancing equitable learning outcomes for students from diverse backgrounds. The objectives for this presentation in the proposed symposium are to a) share legislation enacted by a state legislature, in partnership with a state education agency in the northeast, aimed at increasing educator diversity, b) describe the policies and practices utilized by the state education agency to implement the legislation, and c) explore lessons learned through the process that will inform ongoing efforts in the state and across the nation in other states.

The launchpad for the state work to increase educator diversity began with aligned actions by the State Board of Education (SBE), the SEA, and the state legislature. In the summer of 2015, the SBE and the Commissioner of Education at the SEA recommitted to their on-going efforts to ensure that equitable access and opportunities guided all of their work to advance public education statewide in the SBEs five-year comprehensive plan for 2016 – 2021. In partnership with the SEA, among the responsibilities the SBE embraced was to provide schools with teachers and leaders who reflect and value the racial, ethnic, cultural, and linguistic diversity of students in the state. Over the next few years, a series of legislative actions and subsequent SEA policies were implemented. Supplemented with investments in human and material resources including capacity building for CSDE leaders in the Talent Office and the development of resources and coaching to school districts, the state has been successful in increasing educator diversity. By 2021, non-White educators make up 10% of the workforce—an increase of more than two percent. While the increased diversity of the educator workforce has not kept pace with the increasing diversity of students in this states K12 schools, there is much to be learned about how state legislation, coupled with support to districts, can be leveraged to achieve greater educator diversity. This presentation in the proposed symposium aims to share those lessons learned to inform the efforts of other states to increase educator diversity.

References

National Center for Education Statistics. (2022, May). Racial/ethnic enrollment in public schools: Condition of Education. U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences. https://nces.ed.gov/programs/ coe/indicator/cge/racial-ethnic-enrollment

Warner, S. R., & Duncan, E. (2019). A vision and guidance for a diverse and learner-ready teacher workforce. Council of Chief State School Officers.

Author

• Saroja Warner, Wested