Giving Compass' Take:

• Donna Glassman-Sommer explains how California schools are successfully recruiting diverse teachers. 

• How can these methods be brought to scale? Could these strategies be used to improve teacher diversity in your community? 

• Learn more about the need for more diverse teachers.

A mounting crisis is playing out in California classrooms. Three-quarters of all state school districts report difficulties in recruiting teachers, a trend seen across the country. California is already ranked dead last in student-to-teacher ratios, and the state needs 100,000 additional teachers over the next decade, according to Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning.

Retention is also an issue; in urban districts, nearly 50 percent of new teachers leave the profession during their first five years.

Within this crisis is a deeper problem: California is struggling to find and retain teachers of color. Numerous studies show the importance of diverse educators in improving learning for both minority and white students, yet there is a dearth of such teachers and administrators in California schools. In fact, as of the 2016-17 school year, 63 percent of all teachers in California were white. As California’s classrooms increase in student diversity, so must its cadre of diverse, high-quality educators.

The California Center on Teaching Careers works directly with school districts, institutes of higher education and teacher candidates across the state — and country — to implement best practices that place high-quality candidates in hard-to-fill positions. A key goal is to diversify the teacher candidate pipeline through innovative recruitment strategies like virtual job fairs that enable candidates, including those exploring alternate pathways into the field, to chat online with hiring agencies across California. Not only does this break down geographic barriers, it puts candidates from all backgrounds in direct contact with hiring agencies.

Many districts have also successfully implemented a grow-your-own model to specifically recruit teachers from the communities in which they live. For diverse and high-needs areas within California, this recruitment approach often results in an increase in the number of teachers who mirror area demographics and are familiar with, and invested in, the neighborhoods where they teach.

Partnerships are also a critical lever for diversifying the teacher force, particularly in subject areas that are challenging to staff.

Attracting teachers of color into the profession is essential as student populations in states like California continue to diversify and as the teaching shortage crunch persists. Districts and institutions of higher education must think outside the traditional recruitment box to effectively meet this need. That means forging innovative partnerships, identifying and then removing barriers to entry, and exploring new approaches to something as simple as a career fair.

Read the full article about California's successful diverse teacher recruitment strategy by Donna Glassman-Sommer at The 74.