We need more Black teachers. A lot more.

While Black students account for 15 percent of all public schools students in the U.S., Black teachers make up just 7 percent of the teacher workforce. Worse, teachers who identify as Black men make up less than 2 percent of the workforce. To reach proportional parity between Black teachers and students, we would need 280,000 more Black teachers in our public schools.

It’s a staggering shortfall that has real consequences for our students and our communities.

The majority of students never have a Black teacher at all from kindergarten to 12th grade, which is a travesty. Multiple rigorous studies have shown the positive impact of teacher diversity on all learners, but especially Black students. When Black students have at least one Black teacher by 3rd grade, they’re 13 percent more likely to enroll in college. With two Black teachers, they are 32 percent more likely to go to college. For low-income Black boys, their on-time high school graduation rate climbs by nearly 40 percent.

All of this is why the Center for Black Educator Development, a national nonprofit created to build a national Black teacher pipeline and where I serve as CEO, is launching the national campaign #WeNeedBlackTeachers, and we are kicking it off with a national day of action on Sept. 9.

Read the full article about achieving educational justice by Sharif El-Mekki at EdSurge.