The U.S. is currently experiencing a teacher shortage. Many school districts have been impacted by this issue and want to know: how do we recruit more qualified candidates into the profession, and, more importantly, how do we recruit more Teachers of Color? We may be experiencing a shortage of teachers in general, but there has been a paucity of…

Classrooms across America have become increasingly racially and ethnically diverse. Little attention has been paid to where minority teachers tend to be employed, what happens to minority teachers once they are employed, and to the role of the employing organizations in teacher staffing problems. The purpose of this quantitative comparative study…

In August, the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) released the grimmest "Nation's Report Card" in 20 years. Between 2020 and 2022, America's students dropped five points in reading and seven points in math. At a time when there is empirical evidence that America's students are struggling -- the NAEP scores are just one…

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…

Rural schools, particularly high poverty rural schools, often have difficulty hiring and retaining qualified teachers. Here, we discuss three programs the Arkansas Department of Education has used to attract teachers to teacher Geographic Shortage Districts (GSDs) through material incentives. Unfortunately, none of the programs have had much…

New Orleans is looking for a few good teachers, principals and charter school operators. As state and local officials struggle to rebuild the city devastated by Hurricane Katrina 18 months ago, they are facing a severe shortage of talent willing and able to educate the fast-growing student population. The problem is especially stark in the schools…

This study supports efforts by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) to foster greater state accountability and establish data-driven planning and self-assessment processes that help states and schools to address provisions of the recently enacted Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act…