All students, and especially students of color, benefit from having teachers of color. Yet the teacher workforce is far less racially diverse than the student population, and aspiring teachers of color are left behind at all points along the teacher pipeline, likely including clinical practice.1 Prep programs, districts, and states need to both develop a clinical practice experience that is welcoming and supportive for all aspiring teachers and also identify specific ways to help aspiring teachers of color complete clinical practice, earn a teaching license, and enter the classroom.
Teachers tend to have a high level of student loan debt, and that debt is even greater for teachers of color.2 Many places are addressing those financial needs through stipends for student teachers so that they can afford to work full time as student teachers without a separate paid position.
Similarly, current teachers of color (who would be among those with higher average student loan debt3) may be more likely to take on cooperating teacher positions if this role comes with financial compensation. Teachers of color already report taking on many additional but unpaid responsibilities,4 and hosting cooperating teachers should not be added to that unpaid burden.
University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV)
UNLV achieved a much higher program completion rate for its apprenticeship program (60% of whom are candidates of color), with 90% of candidates completing the program compared to only half from the traditional teacher prep program. The apprenticeship program intentionally recruits people invested in Nevada schools, such as those working as paraprofessionals and similar roles, many of whom are people of color. To ensure they received adequate support throughout the program, UNLV spoke with many paraprofessionals as well as district leaders when developing the program, and received input from them on what would help them succeed. The resulting supports include an onboarding to acclimate them to college coursework and ongoing, on-demand coaching that extends beyond the two-year program.
References
- Putman, H., Hansen, M., Walsh, K., & Quintero, D. (2016). High hopes and harsh realities: The real challenges to building a diverse workforce. Brookings Institution. https://www.nctq.org/publications/High-Hopes-and-Harsh-Realities:-The-real-challenges-to-building-a-diverse-workforce; CALDER. (No Date). Understanding how diversity in the teacher preparation pipeline contributes to diversity gaps in the classroom. https://caldercenter.org/data-visualizations/understanding-how-diversity-teacher-preparation-pipeline-contributes-diversity
- García, E., Wei, W., Patrick, S. K., Leung-Gagné, M., & DiNapoli Jr, M. A. (2023). In debt: Student loan burdens among teachers. Learning Policy Institute. https://doi. org/10.54300/497.986; Fiddiman, B., Campbell, C., & Partelow, L. (2019). Student debt: An overlooked barrier to increasing teacher diversity. Center for American Progress.
- Fiddiman, B., Campbell, C., & Partelow, L. (2019). Student debt: An overlooked barrier to increasing teacher diversity. Center for American Progress.
- Dixon, D., Griffin, A., & Teoh, M. (2019). If you listen, we will stay: Why teachers of color leave and how to disrupt teacher turnover. Education Trust. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED603193.pdf