Increasing teacher diversity is one of the 13 strategic goals Commissioner Dr. Jason Glass set to advance student learning across the Commonwealth.
The research literature is clear that all students benefit academically and socially from having teachers of color. Studies show teachers of color to increase student test scores, graduation rates, and college-going rates (Bristol & Martin-Fernandez, 2019; Carner-Thomas, 2018). The effects of having a teacher of color are even stronger for students of color.
Yet in Kentucky, where students of color represent 26% of the state’s public-school population, teachers of color make up only 5% of the educator workforce.
Commissioner Glass set an ambitious goal to increase the percentage of teachers of color from 5% to 10% by 2026. Through initiatives such as Educator Rising, KDE aims to expand teacher workforce diversity in the state by recruiting high school and college students to enter the teaching profession. Future teachers participating in the program receive formalize training in the classroom and professional support through the Career and Technical Student Organzation. For more information, see KDE’s Grow-Your-Own website.