Teacher diversity is a pressing issue that demands attention. At TNTP, we see this from our own work in districts and communities, our data on how far states and districts have to go to build an educator workforce that reflects the rich diversity of their students, and in new analyses like that from the National Council on Teacher Quality that reinforce our findings.
As we strive to keep teacher diversity at the forefront of the national conversation on education and workforce, it’s critical that we all understand the evidence and rationale for why teacher diversity is so essential for building a public education system that truly prepares young people to thrive.
…educator diversity is not just a matter of representation. It is a proven catalyst for stronger connections, richer learning experiences, and improved outcomes for all students.
Our nation has been grappling with low levels of teacher and school leader diversity for decades, at least since it became clear that one of the unintended consequences of Brown vs Board of Education was a severe reduction in the number of teachers of color in classrooms everywhere. Since that time, researchers have steadily built an evidence base that moves the discussion beyond one of ratios to an examination of impacts.
The evidence base tells us three things worth highlighting:
- For students of color, same-race teachers can help overcome systemic barriers like lower expectations and lack of cultural relevance, leading to higher test scores, graduation rates, and college enrollment.
- For all students, not just students of color, teacher diversity reduces biases, broadens perspectives, and helps build the critical thinking and social skills essential in a connected world.
- While racial diversity is central, other aspects of teacher diversity—gender, language, and life experiences—are also important for improving outcomes and fostering inclusive learning for all students.
In other words, educator diversity is not just a matter of representation. It is a proven catalyst for stronger connections, richer learning experiences, and improved outcomes for all students.
As comprehensive and compelling as the evidence is, some critics continue to try to politicize efforts to build a more diverse teacher workforce. But this is not a matter of diversity for diversity’s sake. Instead, the rich collective of teachers’ lived experiences, voices, and perspectives in a school building is one of many fundamental aspects of the quality of our teacher workforce. We know this for a fact. And that point of view has been embraced and codified in policy by states as different as Tennessee, North Carolina, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and California.
Still, our progress as a nation has been slowed by a combination of factors—from a lack of transparent data about the true state of teacher diversity, financial barriers that keep potential teachers out of the profession, and challenging working conditions. Today, TNTP’s data show that only 22 percent of teachers across the nation identify as a person of color. In nearly 23 percent of schools nationwide, students do not have a single teacher of color.
This is not just a missed opportunity; it is a call to action, particularly in light of the comparison data on student outcomes nationally and internationally. We can and must do better.
In 2021, TNTP recognized that it would take a movement to move the needle on teacher diversity, and in turn the quality and quantity of effective educators. That’s why we co-founded the One Million Teachers of Color Campaign, a national campaign with the ambitious goal of closing diversity gaps in our classrooms by 2030. We’re collaborating with coalition partners, educators, and policymakers every day to build stronger pipelines to recruit and retain effective teachers and school leaders.
At a time when many systems are struggling with staffing shortages, we’re encouraged by the fact that educator diversity offers a two-generational workforce solution that addresses the needs of children and their caregivers at the same time, and draws from the untapped talent in local communities. We also understand that our ultimate success will require reimagining and restructuring the teaching profession so that it can sustain and retain high-quality, diverse educators.
There is no single solution, no one silver bullet that will ensure that our education system is setting up young people to thrive long after they cross the graduation stage, in careers of their choosing and in life. But based on the evidence, strengthening and diversifying our teacher workforce is one critical lever that will help us improve outcomes for all young people. And it’s a lever that we can pull right now.
