Giving Compass' Take:

• Stephanie Wang shares three insights from panelists at the annual TNTP conference for schools working to break down barriers for educators of color. 

• How can funders support schools' efforts to reduce these barriers? What are the consequences of failing to remove these barriers? 

• Learn about a nonprofit boosting teacher workforce diversity. 

It’s a persistent problem in schools across Indianapolis, the state, and the nation: Too few teachers look like their students.

America’s teaching force is disproportionately white and female, even in districts like Indianapolis Public Schools, where just under half of students are black, nearly a third are Hispanic, and about one-fifth are white.

At the annual conference of the teacher training and advocacy group TNTP, I moderated a panel on addressing the systemic barriers and unconscious biases that educators of color face — from their own formative school years, through college and certification, and into the classroom.

Here are three other tips, tools, and takeaways from the discussion.

  1. Systemic problems require systemic changes. Aleesia Johnson, deputy superintendent for academics at Indianapolis Public Schools, explained: “If you see a lake full of dead fish, you’re not going to say, ‘What’s wrong with the fish?’ You’re going to say, ‘What happened in this lake that all our fish are dying?’”
  2. Be a school that embraces diversity. Tiffany Kyser, associate director of engagement and partnerships at the Great Lakes Equity Center, offered tips for creating more inclusive schools, such as using people-first language.
  3. Take on the “-isms”. Equity needs to be central to the work that educators are doing, the panelists all pointed out — and to the community at large. Johnson, the IPS deputy superintendent, acknowledged how easy it is, in the bustle of the school year, not to be as thoughtful or intentional enough about racial equity.

Read the full article about breaking down barriers by Stephanie Wang at Chalkbeat.