Diversity

Education news, analysis, and opinion around school diversity, including racial, ethnic, and cultural diversity, as well as coverage of gender diversity and LGBTQ issues

See Also: Equity & Diversity, Teacher Diversity

Kabir Saad
Saad Kabir, who works on recruitment for New York City public schools, started a podcast to help entice people of color into the classroom.
Courtesy of Saad Kabir
Recruitment & Retention Q&A Behind the Podcast That's Trying to Entice More People of Color Into Teaching
New York City uses outside-the-box strategies to recruit and retain educators of color.
Alyson Klein, September 20, 2023
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4 min read
Woman stands in front of a staircase in different colors. She is about to walk up the stairs. Concept of standing in front of a challenge and finding the right solution and courage to move on.
mikkelwilliam/E+
School & District Management Despite Progress, Women Superintendents Face Steep Path to Gender Parity
Male superintendents outnumber their female counterparts, and women often enter the role in times of crisis.
Evie Blad, September 15, 2023
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2 min read
Education Week Big Idea Protest 082023
Traci Daberko for Education Week
Families & the Community Reported Essay Parents’ Rights Groups Have Mobilized. What Does It Mean for Students?
Parents' rights groups have led the charge to limit teaching about race, sexuality, and gender. What will happen to students who miss out?
Libby Stanford, August 31, 2023
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12 min read
Four of the 30 copies of the six Harry Potter books remain on a shelf at the Crawfordsville District Public Library in Crawfordsville, Ind., on July 18, 2007. The newest release, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" will not even make it to the shelf when it is released on Saturday because of a waiting list to check out the book, according to a library spokesman in Crawfordsville.
Harry Potter books sit on a shelf at the Crawfordsville District Public Library in Crawfordsville, Ind., on July 18, 2007. Some educators are rethinking their inclusion of the popular book series in their classrooms because of the author's comments about transgender people.
Michael Conroy/AP
Reading & Literacy Is It Time to Retire 'Harry Potter'-Themed Classrooms and Libraries?
Author J.K. Rowling's comments on transgender people have left some educators uneasy about promoting the series.
Madeline Will, August 21, 2023
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6 min read
People protest outside of the Supreme Court in Washington on June 29, 2023. The Supreme Court struck down affirmative action in college admissions, declaring race cannot be a factor and forcing institutions of higher education to look for new ways to achieve diverse student bodies.
Demonstrators outside of the U.S. Supreme Court on June 29, the day the court struck down affirmative action in college admissions. The Biden administration on Aug. 14 issued guidance on other ways colleges to promote racial diversity.
Jose Luis Magana/AP
Law & Courts Biden Administration Outlines How Colleges Can Pursue Racial Diversity After Court Ruling
The U.S. Departments of Education and Justice say universities may partner with schools on outreach and recruitment of minority students.
Mark Walsh, August 14, 2023
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5 min read
Elementary school teacher greeting his students at the door.
Getty
Recruitment & Retention What Can States Do to Patch the 'Leaky Pipeline' for Teachers of Color?
State teacher-recruitment programs need to be more explicit about aiming for diversity, a report finds.
Madeline Will, August 8, 2023
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6 min read
Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona gives an address to the American Federation of Teachers Together Educating America’s Children (TEACH) conference, in Washington, D.C., on July 21, 2023.
U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, shown speaking to a teachers' conference on July 21, addressed educational leaders Wednesday about the U.S. Supreme Court's affirmative action decision.
Graeme Sloan for Education Week
Federal Secretary Cardona Says Affirmative Action Decision Will Challenge All Education Leaders
The U.S. Department of Education held a summit to discuss the Supreme Court decision and said that more detailed guidance was coming soon.
Mark Walsh, July 26, 2023
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4 min read
Education Secretary Miguel Cardona speaks during the daily briefing at the White House in Washington on June 30, 2023.
Education Secretary Miguel Cardona at the White House in Washington on June 30, 2023. Cardona spoke to Black teachers at a professional development event about teacher retention and the future of teaching.
Susan Walsh/AP
Teaching Profession Secretary Cardona Emphasizes Importance of Teacher Retention, Diversity
U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona spoke to Black teachers about retention and the future of the profession.
Eesha Pendharkar, July 20, 2023
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3 min read
Demonstrators protest outside of the Supreme Court in Washington on June 29, 2023, after the Supreme Court struck down affirmative action in college admissions, saying race cannot be a factor.
Demonstrators protest outside of the Supreme Court in Washington on June 29, 2023, after the Supreme Court struck down affirmative action in college admissions, saying race cannot be a factor.
Jose Luis Magana/AP
Equity & Diversity From College Advising to Teacher Preparation: Affirmative Action Ruling May Reshape K-12
These are some ways in which the Supreme Court’s decision may impact K-12 schools.
Eesha Pendharkar, July 14, 2023
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6 min read
Education Week opinion letters submissions
Gwen Keraval for Education Week
Recruitment & Retention Letter to the Editor Reserve Seats at the Table for BIPOC Educators
Districts must better support BIPOC educators, writes an assistant teaching professor of justice.
July 11, 2023
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1 min read
Education Week opinion letters submissions
Gwen Keraval for Education Week
Recruitment & Retention Letter to the Editor We Need Better Efforts to Hire and Retain Black Teachers
Recruitment efforts are often all sound and fury, with no change, writes an academic director.
July 11, 2023
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1 min read
Kanya Redd, 15, explores an exhibit on segregation at the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park Visitor's Center on April 18, 2023 in Atlanta. The new cultural exchange initiative is sponsored by Martha's Table, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit committed to expanding opportunity and economic mobility. Approximately 75% of the participants traveled by plane for the first time to get to Atlanta.
Kanya Redd, 15, explores an exhibit on segregation at the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park Visitor's Center on April 18, 2023 in Atlanta. A new initiative is aiming to combine advocacy and legal strategies to increase school funding and support efforts to create more racially and socioeconomically balanced schools.
Nicole Craine/AP Images for Martha's Table
Education Funding Meet the New Group Promising to Tackle School Funding and Segregation Together
The group aims to boost litigation, research, and advocacy to support diverse, well-resourced public schools.
Mark Lieberman, June 19, 2023
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7 min read
Dennis K. Bordley, 6, right, one of the first two black children at a previously segregated all-white school, Caesar Rodney Elementary School in Camden-Wyoming, Del., strides along with hand in pocket on the way to first grade, Sept. 9, 1959.
Dennis K. Bordley, 6, right, one of the first two Black children at a previously segregated all-white school in Camden-Wyoming, Del., makes his way to 1st grade on Sept. 9, 1959. Public schools remain deeply segregated almost 70 years after the U.S. Supreme Court outlawed racial segregation.
Bill Ingraham/AP
Equity & Diversity Public Schools Are Still Segregated. But These Tools Can Help
Data show that racial and socioeconomic segregation persist, but districts may be able to seek federal help to address it.
Eesha Pendharkar, June 7, 2023
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4 min read
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Chris Ferenzi for Education Week
Recruitment & Retention How to Recruit and Retain Bilingual Teachers and Men of Color
Mentoring and building personal relationships can be powerful tools for recruiting and retaining educators of color and bilingual teachers.
Alyson Klein, May 26, 2023
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2 min read
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