TeachingInColor FINAL DIGITALPages - Flipbook - Page 28
#representation
matters
Teachers of color reflect on the celebrations of
challenges of being in the classroom
By Kamille Bostick | Director of Programming, CREED
Graphics by Beth Rowell | Director of Marketing & Communications, CREED
M
akai Moses, of Mint Hill, NC, says he has
In more rural areas, where
had only one Black teacher in his life — and
there may be less people of color,
that was in elementary school.
the differences can be pronounced. But even urban and
A high school junior who aspires to
a career in physics one day, Moses is not
alone in his experience of having very few teachers of color
lead his classrooms over the years.
In North Carolina, despite students of color
suburban areas can have gaps.
Teacher representation is not just a numbers problem,
however.
The positive effects of having a teacher of color for
students of color are well-documented. Research indicates
representing 52 percent of public school students, only
that for Black students with Black teachers there is a
about 20 percent of teachers are teachers of color. This
significant increase in math and reading achievement. One
mirrors national percentages where 80 percent of the
study found that Black students who had a Black teacher
teaching force is white and female, according to figures
in kindergarten through third grade were more likely to
from The Education Trust.
graduate from high school and go to college. Researchers
Professor Benji Chang, who has taught and researched
at the Urban Institute report that Latinx elementary students
in California as well as New York before taking his current
with Latinx teachers are also more likely to see increased
position at the College of Education at UNC Greensboro
academic outcomes.
is familiar with the imbalance within teacher-student
demographics.
“It’s definitely an issue around the U.S.,” says Chang,
These facts do not mean white teachers cannot
effectively teach or reach students of color nor that racial/
ethnic matching between teachers and students is required
“but especially in the South, this issue about the numbers is
for students of color to succeed. The impact of teachers
more stark.”
of color cannot be understated, however, nor can the
mismatch between who is teaching and who is being taught
continue to be ignored.
