Research shows that all students benefit from having a diverse group of teachers from a variety of backgrounds. Students experience notable educational impacts in schools where they have opportunities to engage with multicultural curriculum materials, experience culturally responsive and sustaining school climates, and learn in classrooms led by teachers from racially, ethnically, and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
Increasing teacher diversity is of particular importance to the charter school sector as charter schools are more likely to serve students of color than traditional public schools. This publication is designed to support charter school leaders’ efforts to achieve educational equity by focusing on one key strategy—building a pipeline of teachers of color through effective recruiting, hiring, and sustaining strategies.
“Educator Diversity Matters: Strategies for Charter Leaders to Recruit, Hire, and Sustain Teachers of Color” has three sections:
- Section 1 provides an overview of the research on the importance of having a diverse teacher workforce, and in particular more teachers of color, who enact pedagogies and practices that are culturally responsive and sustaining.
- Section 2 features strategies Drew Charter School in Georgia and DSST Public Schools in Colorado are successfully implementing to recruit, hire, and sustain teachers of color.
- Section 3 highlights key strategies for recruiting, hiring, and sustaining teachers of color. It also contains reflection questions for school leaders to consider with their staff, as well as resources that can support their charter school.