Most White Teachers Are Not Ready to Teach Black and Brown Students

Effective teachers can change and save lives, but being a great teacher is hard. The challenge is especially acute in our high-poverty, under-resourced public schools where teacher tenure is…

I Know What the Challenges Are for Black Teachers and How to Start Fixing Them

I will never forget the moment last year when a seventh-grade African American student came to my door and said, “Mr. Taylor, I just wanted…

A Leaky Pipeline Loses Teachers of Color

Despite the benefits of a diverse teaching force, prospective teachers of color fall out of our leaky preparation pipeline at every stage: preparation, hiring, induction…

Teacher Diversity Explained: Why It Matters, and How We Got Here

While America’s student body has grown more diverse over time, the teachers working with them have remained overwhelmingly white. While more than half of public…

Inside the Decade-Long Plan to Recruit, Hire and Retain 9,000 Black Educators Across the Country

Across the entire United States, there aren’t nearly enough Black teachers inside classrooms.  According to the National Center for Education Statistics, less than 7% of…

Want a National Effort to Combat COVID Learning Loss? Study Your Black History.

We know all too well Black and brown students in marginalized communities are now bearing the brunt of the pandemic’s effect on schools—with inadequate technology,…

I Love Teaching, But I’m Not a Martyr

I have been navigating majority (or all) white spaces for a very long time. Whether it was the tracked gifted and talented classes or my…

Will Your Black Teachers Still Matter When Black History Month Is Over?

The protests and activism that took place last year had an impact on schools. School districts are adding diversity, equity, and inclusion roles and stating…

Black Teachers Face Extra Scrutiny While White Teachers Often Get a Pass

When we hire White teachers, their quality is generally assumed rather than questioned. But when we look at Black educators, their quality is generally questioned.…

Don’t Just Invite Black Men to School on the First Day, We Need Them All Year Long

A tradition for many schools that educate predominately Black children involves welcoming the children back with scores of Black men cheering them on as they…