It’s winter break time for Minnesota school districts. But when classes resume, efforts will continue to ensure there are more teachers of color working with diverse student populations.
About 95 percent of all teachers in Minnesota are white. However, nearly 40% of students are from different racial and ethnic backgrounds, with higher numbers in the Twin Cities.
Markus Flynn is the executive director of Black Men Teach, which works with area districts on strengthening pathways for Black males to become elementary school teachers.
Beyond achievement gaps, he said the lack of diversity has produced other glaring outcomes.
“What you see is, Black students represent 10 percent of the student population in Minnesota,” said Flynn, “but 42% of all discipline incidents.”
His organization has made some gains in helping to diversify staff. Flynn said two of its six partner schools now have four or more Black male teachers.
The group partners with the Children’s Defense Fund’s Freedom Schools initiative. Both entities have engaged with the state in the early stages of an apprenticeship model to create a more robust teacher pipeline.
Flynn said he hopes these collective efforts will inspire students of color to embrace the idea of a career in education.
“When I think about at the core what this work is focused on, it’s on students,” said Flynn. “And so, the teachers are the vehicles by which we impact students.”
As for the apprenticeship model, officials with the Department of Labor and Industry hope for a launch sometime in 2024.
The department says it’s balancing an approach that allows partner organizations to weave in efforts that address the needs of a certain community while meeting all the necessary standards.
Mike Moen writes for the Minnesota News Connection.
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