According to the US Department of Education, 50% of students receiving public education are nonwhite[1]. Studies show that Black students with same-race teachers are 13% more likely to graduate from high school and 19% more likely to go to college[2], and less likely to require disciplinary action such as suspension or expulsion.
Black teachers make up only 7% of teachers[3] — and annually,19% of Black teachers leave the profession or change schools — so why aren’t there more initiatives to keep Black teachers in the classroom?
Black Educators are Asked to be ‘Everything’
While school districts across the United States are pushing to diversify their faculty, many Black educators are leaving school districts — or the profession altogether — for the same reasons they are so sought after in the first place.
It is essential to have ‘mirrors’ in the classroom. Because Black students have shown to perform better both academically and interpersonally when having at least one Black teacher, Black teachers are therefore tasked with a disproportionate amount of responsibility.
to attend to psychological needs, disciplinary action, and even physical needs of Black students..[4]
This is all in addition to meeting the classroom’s educational requirements, meaning Black educators are pulling double and even triple-duty within the school systems.
Black teachers become ‘stuck in their positions without the option for upward mobility available to non-Black educators (after all, if you’re good at something, why move you anywhere else?).
As a result, Black teachers experience career burnout, leaving the school district or altogether leaving the profession.
Black Educators Need More Support
Keeping Black teachers and leaders in our schools is crucial, which means stronger support and opportunities for our Black educators.
At Community Build Ventures, our mission is for our communities to thrive, which starts with empowering our Black Educators and leaders. We partner with nonprofits, foundations, governmental agencies, and businesses to provide training, coaching, and consulting services to examine and eliminate the root causes of issues within your organization.
This includes our school systems.
As a community, we must work together to put systems into place that support our Black educators.
BMEsTalk: A Safe Space for Black Male Educators to Connect, Grow, and Lead
Our support for Black male educators goes beyond training and consulting for school systems. It is equally essential for educators themselves to feel — and be — supported.
Powered by CommunityBuild Ventures, BMesTalk cultivates powerful spaces to help Black male educators to reach their full potential.
Our children — especially Black boys — want black teachers, need black teachers, and deserve black teachers.
Sources:
[1] https://www.gse.harvard.edu/news/ed/16/05/where-are-all-teachers-color
[2] https://www.nber.org/papers/w25254
[3] https://hechingerreport.org/reason-many-black-teachers-leave-job-early/
[4] https://journals.sfu.ca/cvj/index.php/cvj/article/viewFile/33/41
