School Reform Said To Require Diversity In Teachers

Dr. Ann-Marie Adams writes in an op-ed in the Hartford (CT) Guardian (5/12) that a lack of diversity "has likely resulted in the tepid result" of Connecticut's school reforms. Adams defines teacher diversity as "having culturally responsive teachers who understand students and adapt to different learning styles." While "teacher diversity has been marginalized in discussions about ed reform and submerged in contentious debates over testing, privatization, or charter vs public schools," Adams argues that teachers need the cultural competency to interact with students and parents.

Educators Call For Greater Racial Diversity Among Teachers.

Diverse: Issues In Higher Education (5/13, Hawkins) reports on a recent forum at Howard University "to address the lack of diversity in the nation's teacher workforce," noting that shortly after winning the landmark Brown v. Board of Education integration case, Thurgood Marshall warned that black teachers would be displaced by white job competitors after schools were integrated. The piece notes that forum attendee Dr. Leslie T. Fenwick said that the "elimination of Black teachers from the classroom would not only be an economic loss for those educators, but a disservice to their students and a detriment for the teaching profession."