Promoting Teacher Diversity by Strengthening Latinx Teacher Pathways

This report adds a significant perspective to the current wave of efforts aimed at diversifying the teacher workforce, specifically to address the mismatch between Latinx students and Latinx teachers. The Latinx population is the largest ethnic group in America’s public schools, currently making up a quarter of the student population, and expected to grow to one-third by 2027. Research shows that schools and districts with teachers that reflect the cultural, racial, and/or linguistic backgrounds of Latinx students are better equipped to support them. This report explores how Latinx teachers typically enter the profession and the barriers they face along the way. This report profiles three Latinx-focused pathways into teaching that are attempting to reduce those barriers, reflects on key findings, and offers recommendations for policymakers and practitioners.

This two-page document provides an overview of the report, Paving the Way for Latinx Teachers.

This profiles an early pathway into teaching program in Skagit Valley, Washington, where collaboration between a state-funded high school teacher academy program, a local community college, and a four-year college provides Latinx students intensive advising to keep them on track to completing an education degree.

This profiles a long-standing program at an HSI in San Antonio, Texas that has recently extended its reach to high schools and community colleges to recruit more Latinx students into critical teaching shortage areas.

This profiles a partnership in Chicago, Illinois between the local public-school district and an HSI which has developed a bilingual teacher residency program that is helping non-certified school staff and community members earn their teaching license.

A prelude to our interview blog series, Roxanne Garza addresses why the widening gap between student and teacher demographics matters, despite the finding in a report by the Consortium for Policy Research in Education that the teaching workforce is rapidly diversifying by race and ethnicity.

Dr. Ana María Villegas discusses why it's important to diversify the teacher workforce and how to help plug leaks in the Latinx teacher pipeline.

Etai Mizrav, senior technical assistance consultant and equity content leader at the Center for Great Teachers and Leaders (GTL) at American Institutes for Research, explains how diversifying the teacher workforce will improve teacher quality.

Dr. Daniel Velasco, chief growth and impact officer at Latinos for Education, discusses key barriers to attracting and retaining Latinx teachers as well as strategies to overcome those challenges.

Luis Maldonado, until recently with the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) government relations office, and Alicia Diaz, interim chief advocacy officer of HACU, explain the role that the association, and the Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) it represents, can play in supporting the growth of Latinx teachers.