No school district has completely cracked the code on recruiting and retaining high quality educators of color.
But two Education Week 2023 Leaders to Learn From who have made significant headway on that vital priority offered their advice at Education Week鈥檚 leadership symposium earlier this month, held May 10-12 in Washington, D.C.
Natalie Griffin, director of special programs for the 3,000-student Mineral Wells district in Texas, has more than doubled the number of bilingual educators working in the district, as well as revamped the way Mineral Wells educates English learners.
Her existing teachers have become some of her best recruiters, she said. 鈥淭hey help me network and they鈥檙e bringing their friends or their families,鈥� and encouraging them to teach in the district.
And for retention, she said, it helps to develop personal relationships with teachers.
鈥淚 think it is about valuing them, as a person, them as a family member,鈥� Griffin said during a May 11 panel discussion at the event. 鈥淪o, if I hear there鈥檚 something coming up, say a wedding, operation, whatever, I鈥檒l put it on my calendar, and I make sure that I give them a phone call or a text and say, 鈥榦h, by the way, I remember you had this coming up. How are things going?鈥� It鈥檚 so simple, but it means a ton to them.鈥�
Chimere Stephens, the senior director of diversity recruitment and NYC Men Teach for New York City public schools, has helped lead an effort to nearly double the percentage of male teachers of color in the nation鈥檚 largest school district over the past eight years, from 8.5 percent in 2015 to 15 percent last year.
He鈥檚 designed a fellowship that allows college students interested in teaching to spend the summer working in New York City public schools summer programs. They can then go back and serve as recruiters for the district at their colleges.
鈥淚t also allows us to extend our recruitment reach because now we have an extension of our recruitment team on, let鈥檚 say, 30 campuses across the country,鈥� said Stephens, who was also on the panel. 鈥淲e ask them to hold one event in the fall [at their colleges], one event in the spring, and all we have to do is pay them in swag and maybe a little stipend.鈥�
And when it comes to early career teachers, 鈥測ou can鈥檛 talk about recruitment without talking about retention,鈥� Stephens said.
His office connects new teachers with a mentor, typically another man of color whom they may feel more comfortable talking to than their school-appointed mentor. He thinks of this as social-emotional learning for teachers.
鈥淲e create a space for educators to be able to showcase their work amongst their peers and then also throughout the district as well,鈥� Stephens said.
