The NEA recently released
an updated publication to help school districts attract more minority
teachers. Their report spells out some of the problems schools face and
offers some suggestions to overcome those obstacles.
Most faculties are overwhelmingly white, despite efforts by many school
districts over the past ten years to actively attract minority teachers,
according to the National Education Association (NEA). So the association
is offering school districts some tips on how they might close the gap
between increasing numbers of minority students and declining numbers
of minority teachers.
The NEA is concerned about how the shortage of minority teachers will
affect and worsen urban education problems. The U.S. Department of Education
predicts that during the early part of this century, only 5 percent of
teachers will be minority teachers though the student minority population
will be 40 percent.
The problem is also reaching outside urban areas and into suburban school
districts, where large increases of minority immigration are occurring,
said Gerald N. Tirozzi, executive director of the National Association
for Secondary School Principals. "It's a huge problem. Everyone is looking
for minority teachers, and the problem is escalating," he told Education
World. "It serves a purpose for all schools to reflect diversity. Life
is not all white."
School districts are also having a difficult time hiring minority principals,
partly because of aggressive recruiting by businesses that can offer two
to three times the salary that schools can offer, Tirozzi said. "Principals
tell me this country will have to awaken," he said. Unless the image of
educators is raised and the pay made commensurate with the increasing
difficulties and challenges of the job, the nation will find bodies to
fill those teaching and leadership positions -- but not with quality educators,
Tirozzi said.
The NEA offers many reasons for the minority teacher shortage. Following
are just a few of the reasons detailed in the publication:
Some regions are experiencing a shortage of ethnic minority candidates.
Minority teachers suffer burnout and frustration caused by on-the-job
hazards such as discipline problems, school violence, and the lack of
colleague support.
Standardized tests often have cutoff scores that exclude minority
students; and licensure tests screen out minorities disproportionately.
Minority teachers leave the field at higher rates than white teachers.
Salaries, prestige, and the social value of teachers are lower compared
with those for other professions.
RECRUIT TEACHERS FROM SUPPORT STAFF
Several remedies to overcome recruitment and retention obstacles are
listed in the NEA publication, including the development of a new program
that would recruit teachers from existing school support personnel, said
Sigun Eubanks, NEA's teacher recruitment specialist and one of the contributors
to the report.
Research has found that programs that help paraeducators become teachers
offer a tremendous opportunity to increase the supply of ethnic minority
teachers, Eubanks said. This large pool of school employees -- such as
teaching assistants, clerks, and others with or without baccalaureate
degrees -- are largely minorities. They are generally committed to education
and tend to stay for long periods in the profession, he said. Many are
more mature individuals with extensive classroom experience, have roots
in their communities, and are accustomed to working with challenging students.
LOOKING TO HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS
Other NEA solutions include more aggressive recruitment activities and
various financial and social supports, such as financial aid geared to
minority education students and mentoring in the school setting.
Early recruiting -- getting high school students interested in teaching
-- is another suggestion. The NEA recommends identifying students through
career surveys, counseling, motivational workshops, summer college preparatory
courses, and the promise of financial aid.
The publication also includes state-by-state strategies, which may offer
school districts additional minority recruitment and retention ideas specific
to their areas.
NEA
Offers Tips to Recruit Minority Teachers