The Ready to Teach Program: An HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) Model for Diversifying the Nation’s Teaching Force and Increasing the Presence of African American Male Teachers

• In Event: Teacher Education and the Black Community: Preparing Teachers to Teach Black Students, Preparing Black Students to Become Teachers

Abstract

The purpose of this presentation is twofold: to present the Howard University Ready to Teach program as an effective strategy for diversifying America’s teaching force, particularly as a model for increasing the number of Black male teachers; and, to analyze the unique role of historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in preparing and recruiting Black teachers. The article concludes with policy recommendations that support diversifying the teacher pipeline and expanding HBCUs’ capacity to produce a new generation of teachers.

Students’ access to successive years of credentialed teachers produces strong academic gains (Darling-Hammond, 2010). Even still, too many African American and poor students languish in schools that have high concentrations of noncertified or provisionally-certified teachers and a revolving door of novice principals. African American and poor students are 70 percent more likely than their White and affluent peers to have teachers who are not certified in math, English, science and social studies teaching them these four subjects. Further, there is a clear relationship between teacher quality, diversity and student success (Dilworth, 2007). Beyond a pluralistic ideal, studies indicate that tremendous benefits accrue to African American and Hispanic/Latino students who attend schools with high concentrations of African American/Hispanic Latino teachers. These students are less likely to be suspended or expelled; more likely to be recommended for gifted education; less likely to be misplaced in special education; and, more likely to graduate high school in four years (Fenwick, 2001). Additionally, in her study about teacher perceptions of African American male students, Maddox (1999) found that African American teachers are more likely than their White peers to describe African American male students as “intellectually gifted” and to report that these students engage in positive behaviors such as homework completion, attending school regularly, and assuming leadership roles in classroom activities.

How can the nation ensure that its school children have a diverse teaching force? The Howard University School of Education (HUSOE) operates a Ready to Teach Program that recruits and prepares African American men and other underrepresented groups as classroom teachers. Funded by a $2.1 million grant awarded in 2007, Ready to Teach is a national consortium comprised of the HUSOE and five partner urban public school districts and charter schools including Chicago, Houston, Prince Georges County (Maryland), Washington DC, and Clayton County (Georgia). Recruited from the partner urban communities, Ready to Teach participants earn teacher certification and a master’s degree in a teaching field; participate in an intensive summer institute at Howard University; have a matrix of pre-service and in-service veteran teacher mentors who work with them through their first year of hire; participate in selected on-line learning community activities; and pledge at least three years of service to a high-need school in the partner district. Emerging data strongly support Ready to Teach as a national model for teacher recruitment and preparation.

Author

• Leslie T. Fenwick, Howard University