Why focus on Supports for Teachers of Color to improve Teacher Diversity?
While bringing more teachers of color into the classroom in the first place is critical, those efforts count for little in the long run if schools cannot retain these teachers. National annual turnover of teachers of color, has been somewhat higher (19%) than that of white teachers (15%). 1
State performance on Supports for Teachers of Color for Teacher Diversity
While the majority of states have funded or established state-level initiatives to support educator retention in general, less than half have done so with an explicit focus on teacher diversity.
NCTQ evaluates whether states are effectively using this policy lever by examining whether they support certain programs for teachers of color such as affinity groups or trainings and whether they publish disaggregated retention data. Explore the key actions below to learn more about how each state is implementing policies to diversify its workforce. (NCTQ does not currently assign rankings to states for this policy area.)
What are the key actions states should take?
Key Resources
State of the States 2023: Teacher Diversity
Explore NCTQ’s comprehensive scan of state teacher diversity policies.
Teacher Diversity Dashboard
Explore trends and efforts to diversify the teacher workforce both nationwide and in your community.
References
- Carver-Thomas, D. (2018b). Diversifying the teaching profession through high-retention pathways. Learning Policy Institute.