Given the evidence of positive effects on students of having at least one teacher who shares their race or ethnicity, state boards of education, other state policymakers, and school leaders need to recognize teachers' race and ethnicity as markers of teacher quality. Whether purposefully or not, education systems have long defined teacher quality…

In partnership with the Illinois Community College Board (ICCB), the Office of Community College Research and Leadership (OCCRL) has had an ongoing commitment toward providing support for Illinois community colleges, with the goal of advancing equitable outcomes for students. In pursuit of this objective, OCCRL researchers have worked with…

Studies have shown that Latina faculty have negative racialized and gendered experiences while teaching at their institutions. An emerging body of research shows that these experiences also occur at Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs). The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of Latina faculty at one small, private, four-year…

Research says that teacher diversity benefits all students, regardless of race or Ethnicity. However, while the majority of students in the U.S. are of color, only about 20% of teachers are of color. Increasing the racial and cultural diversity of the teacher workforce takes a statewide commitment to collecting and analyzing educator workforce…

Do inclusion, diversity, equity, and access (IDEA) courses geared toward Latinx students help create a collectivist community on a college campus? We argue that courses incorporating IDEA initiatives into their curriculum and focusing on Latinx individuals provide students the face, place, and space to create the cultural wealth required for…

Teachers contribute more to reading and math outcomes than any other factor of schooling. However, teacher shortages are pervasive. How can schools and districts recruit high-quality educators, hold onto to the ones they already have, and reflect the diversity of their students? This infographic highlights innovative models beyond the traditional…

Although Asian Americans are the fastest-growing racial minority group in the United States, projected to be 10% of the population by 2050, they only comprise 2% of the teaching force. There is relatively little research about the experiences, recruitment efforts, or retention of Asian American teachers. This qualitative study seeks to add to the…

While the majority of U.S students are children of color, only 20% of teachers are people of color. What's more, 40% of the nation's public schools do not have a single teacher of color on record. Research shows that all students, regardless of race or ethnicity, benefit socially, emotionally, and academically from a diverse teacher workforce.…

Hiring and retaining teachers of color is one approach that policymakers can use to support improved academic achievement and opportunities for racially and ethnically diverse students. National data show that while the student population is becoming more diverse, the teacher workforce remains largely white and female. While teachers from all…

As required in 105 ILCS 5/2-3.47a, the Illinois State Board of Education shall develop and maintain a continuing comprehensive strategic plan for elementary and secondary education. The 2020-2023 Strategic Plan consists of goals for equity, student learning, learning conditions, and elevating educators. The Strategic Plan leverages the wide range…

As the number of Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs; postsecondary institutions that enroll 25% or more Latinx students) in the United States increases annually, so does the need to theorize about what it means to have an HSI organizational identity. Using interview data from a multiple case study of three institutionally diverse HSIs in the…

In 2015, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that nearly a quarter of all employed U.S. workers are in a profession that requires an occupational license. Given the prevalence of licensing, it is one of the central factors that shapes employment opportunities for many workers. Licensing is also one of the most restrictive forms of…

This article centers the memories and identities of Black and Brown teachers as they (re)engage with their school experiences. King and Swartz define (re)membering as the process of reconnecting knowledge of the past. We feature two stories--The first is from Roberta and Rachel who demonstrate how Black women reclaim voice, agency, and their own…

This article introduces a strategy to diversify the teaching workforce through de-centering teacher education as the primary stakeholder in the preparation of diverse teachers. The article expands the focus on teacher recruitment and retention by proposing a model that counters the educational context of White supremacy through Grow Your Own (GYO)…

More than 60 years after the ruling in "Brown v. Board of Education" was handed down, its promise remains unfulfilled. In many respects, America's public schools continue to be "separate and unequal." Indeed, the growing re-segregation of American schools by race and ethnicity, compounded by economic class segregation, has…