Teachers of Color

Educators chat with each other during the Edifying, Elevating, and Uplifting Teachers of Color conference in Minneapolis, Minn., on Oct. 20, 2023.
Educators chat with each other during the Edifying, Elevating, and Uplifting Teachers of Color conference in Minneapolis, Minn., on Oct. 20, 2023. Retaining educators within the profession requires paying attention to the quality of induction support they get, ongoing mentorship, and how well prepared school administrators are.
Andrea Ellen Reed for Education Week
Recruitment & Retention The Role Mentors and School Leaders Play in Retaining Teachers of Color
Beyond higher pay, experts share key factors that can keep teachers of color in the profession and even at a given school.
Ileana Najarro, December 4, 2023
6 min read
Clint Mitchell, superintendent for Colonial Beach Public Schools in Colonial Beach, Va., visits a class at Colonial Beach Elementary School on Nov. 6, 2023.
Clint Mitchell, superintendent for Colonial Beach Public Schools in Colonial Beach, Va., visits a class at Colonial Beach Elementary School on Nov. 6, 2023.
Brian Palmer for Education Week
Recruitment & Retention How to Find—and Keep—a Diverse Team of Teachers
Principals and district leaders believe diversifying the educator workforce is important—but recruitment and retention often prove tricky.
Mark Lieberman, December 4, 2023
8 min read
Images shows colorful speech bubbles that say "Q," "&," and "A."
iStock/Getty
Teaching Profession Opinion Teachers of Color Face Unique Challenges. Here Are Some of Them
Teaching is hard enough, but educators of color face additional—often invisible—tasks.
Larry Ferlazzo, November 14, 2023
16 min read
Collaged photo illustration of Black men teachers and positive role models
Vanessa Solis/Education Week via Canva
Recruitment & Retention Opinion 3 Solutions for the Black Male Teacher Shortage
I was well out of college before my mentor persuaded me to become a teacher. Here’s how we can start reaching Black men earlier.
Sharif El-Mekki, November 7, 2023
5 min read
Happy Black female student celebrating while receiving exam results from her Black female teacher in the classroom.
iStock/Getty
Teaching Profession Here's What High School Students of Color Think About Being a Teacher
New research asked high school students of color and Indigenous students what they think about a career in teaching.
Madeline Will, October 17, 2023
6 min read
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
4 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
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
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
1 min read
Illustration of a Black woman with her eyes closed and clouds and lightning bolts surrounding her big hair.
iStock/Getty
Teaching Profession What's Happening to Teacher Stress Levels
Teachers' stress levels have come down since the start of the pandemic, but the job still carries significant challenges.
Madeline Will, June 21, 2023
5 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
2 min read
Education Week opinion letters submissions
Gwen Keraval for Education Week
Equity & Diversity Letter to the Editor To Recruit Black Teachers, We Need Black Leaders
A math teacher explains why Black leaders play a significant role in recruiting and retaining Black educators in this letter to the editor.
May 16, 2023
1 min read
Chris Perfetti, Lisa Ann Walter, Quinta Brunson, and Tyler James Williams play teachers on the ABC sitcom “Abbott Elementary.” Teachers say the show resonates with their experience.
Chris Perfetti, Lisa Ann Walter, Quinta Brunson, and Tyler James Williams play teachers on the ABC sitcom “Abbott Elementary.” Teachers say the show resonates with their experience.
Gilles Mingasson/ABC
Teaching Profession From Euphoric Moments to Workplace Dysfunction, Teachers See Themselves in 'Abbott Elementary'
The show resonates especially strongly among educators of color.
Madeline Will, April 18, 2023
5 min read
Illustration of a beat up school desk with worn out, vandalized, and broken school supplies, onto which a pair of hands place a shiny new black teacher figure.
Joy Velasco for Education week
Recruitment & Retention Opinion Stop Trying to Recruit Black Teachers Until You Can Retain the Ones You Have
Schools are desperate to recruit Black teachers, writes Bettina L. Love. But do they know how to support them and value their work?
Bettina L. Love, March 23, 2023
3 min read