Building a Diverse Teacher Workforce

A diverse teacher workforce is crucial in contributing to the overall quality of education for all students.

Unlike other GYO programs, the Pathways2Teaching® program was intentionally designed to attract students of Color. Using decades of research that highlights what we know about why teachers of Color enter the field, Dr. Bianco created curricula that centers educational justice, racial uplift, and community activism throughout the program.

Listen to Pathways2Teaching Student Talk about Impact of Class & Need for Latino Teachers

Informed by critical pedagogy, students learn to understand their world, examine educational inequities, and propose solutions to right the wrongs in and for their community.

You Can't be Who You Don't See

Students are also introduced to historical and contemporary scholars of Color so they see themselves as future scholars and educational leaders motivated to improve the education system by removing the very inequities they have experienced.

Pathways2Teaching student providing professional development for teachers & administrators - Discussing what students need from them. Teachers of Color & Allies Conference, Boulder, CO

A Few Related Resources - Educator Diversity

Carver-Thomas, D.,& Bianco, M., Goings, R., & Hyler, M.E.(2024). Policies and practices for recruiting and retaining teachers of color. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 32(59). https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.32.8123

This article is part of the special issue, Research on Teachers of Color and Indigenous Teachers, guest edited by Conra Gist, Travis Bristol, and Saili Kulkarni.Abstract: Despite growing interest and investment in building a more racially and ethnically diverse teacher workforce, increases in the share of teachers of color nationally have stalled in recent years. Even with more new teachers of color entering the profession each year, about 80% of the teacher workforce has been white since 2015. This trend highlights the need for researchers and policymakers to view the recruitment and retention of teachers of color as interrelated and critically important to increase the diversity of the teacher workforce. This paper synthesizes what we know about policies and practices at the national, state, and local levels that support recruiting and retaining teachers of color: access to comprehensive teacher preparation, access to mentoring, and supportive teaching conditions. The paper also provides a series of policy recommendations that can improve recruitment and retention for teachers of color based upon the literature.

Pathways2Teaching: Addressing the Teacher Diversity Gap through Grow Your Own Programs

Bianco and Marin-Paris, 2019

Examining Grow Your Own Programs Across the Teacher Development Continuum: Mining Research on Teachers of Color and Nontraditional Educator Pipelines

Gist, Bianco, and Lynn, 2019

Pathways to Teaching: African American Male Teens Explore Teaching as a Career, The Journal of Negro Education,

Bianco, Leech, and Mitchell, 2013

Grow Your Own Programs and Teachers of Color

Teacher Education Quarterly

Educator Diversity Learning Policy Institute

The State of Teacher Diversity in American Education

Handbook on Research on Teachers of Color and Indigenous Teachers

Bianco and Goings, Recruitment Section Editors