Schools need to think more like other industries to seek top talent and reframe the teaching profession. Herrmann argues that if schools can more actively and aggressively recruit teachers to their schools, the reputation of the teaching profession will be enhanced and more high-quality teachers will be attracted to the job.

Educators are centrally important in the fight for racial justice and access to high-quality education. This has never been more true than in the age of the COVID-19 pandemic, as the public acknowledges the crucial role that our public school teachers play in the well-being of our children and of our society at large. Yet our teacher workforce is…

Research shows that teachers of color can benefit all students, particularly students of color, yet only one in five teachers are individuals of color, compared to more than half of K-12 public school students. Increasing the diversity of educators can not only benefit students, but recruiting, preparing, and retaining more teachers of color who…

Research has established the connection between the academic success of culturally and linguistically diverse students, and their schools' ability to recruit and retain teachers that reflect such diversity (Shirrell et al., 2019). Studies have also highlighted the criticality of the students' home language use as a way to enhance academic growth…

Build for Equity supports proficiency of educational leaders to recruit, hire, develop and retain quality teaching candidates, building and system leaders from historically marginalized populations. National Network of State Teachers of the Year (NNSTOY) conducted a months-long study on how to diversify the teacher workforce. This study, sponsored…

The current demographic gap that exists between a predominantly white and female teacher force and an increasing diverse K-12 student population has prompted a focus on the recruitment and retainment of teachers of color. These recruitment and retainment efforts at times come at "the expense of preparation" (Gist, 2014, p. 266). Further,…

Leaders across the state of Minnesota and nation proclaim to want to diversify the educator workforce. However, the reality nationwide is that less than 20% of teachers who teach a student population that is at least 51% students of color are teachers of color (Ingersoll et al., 2018). What follows are a number of research briefs organized around…

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)…

The increase in enrollment of African American, Hispanic, and Asian students in community colleges in the Southern parts of the United States of America sparked an interest in researching the hiring of non-Caucasian faculty in similar institutions and regions. This phenomenological study sought to unveil the personal experiences of non-Caucasian…

Many Black men interested in special education careers enroll in alternate route special education programs over traditional preparation programs. However, there is little research that focuses on their reasons for choosing special education alternate route programs and what makes these programs an effective choice for Black men pursuing teaching…

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…

On June 1 and 2, 2021, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine held a virtual workshop, Teaching and the Teaching Workforce Amid the Struggles of COVID-19 and for Racial Justice. The workshop was designed to revisit findings from the 2020 National Academies' report Changing Expectations for the K-12 Teacher Workforce:…

The purpose of this handbook is to provide detailed information regarding school-based decision making (SBDM) processes, laws, and best practices. Topics covered include the following: (1) School-based Decision Making Statute: KRS 160.345; (2) Achievement Gaps and Planning Requirements; (3) Other Kentucky Statutes Related to School Council Work;…

Research illustrates the importance of supporting a pipeline of teachers of color at every stage of the teaching career, from preservice to veteran teaching status. While more teachers of color are being recruited than in years past, their turnover rates are high, in part due to inadequate preparation and mentoring, poor working conditions, and…

Efforts to recruit and retain Teachers of Color are rarely accompanied by policy and programmatic changes that adequately address their unique learning needs. In this article, I propose a framework that draws on sociocultural learning theory and Critical Race Theory to examine how programmatic structures embedded in a racially structured society…