DEI is under fire, but new report says NC schools need more teacher diversity
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- NCTQ report finds 26 of 57 North Carolina teacher programs yield less diverse graduates.
- North Carolina teacher workforce is 73% white versus student population about 42% white.
- Report urges targeted recruitment, licensure supports, hiring reforms to boost diversity.
A new report questions the lack of diversity in many of the programs training future North Carolina teachers during a time when the concept of diversity itself is under fire.
The report released Wednesday by the National Council on Teacher Quality found that 26 of North Carolina’s 57 teacher preparation programs failed to produce candidates that are as diverse as the state’s existing teacher workforce. The group said this is actively making the teacher workforce less diverse.
“When teacher preparation programs fail to graduate diverse cohorts, students lose out on the proven benefits that teachers of color bring — higher achievement, stronger relationships, and classrooms where every student feels they belong,” Heather Peske, president of the National Council on Teacher Quality, said in a statement.
“Teacher prep programs have a responsibility to recruit, retain and graduate diverse cohorts, and state leaders in North Carolina have a responsibility to support programs in their efforts.” But the concept of promoting a diverse teacher workforce is under greater scrutiny. Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Education canceled tens of millions of dollars in federal teacher recruitment and training grants for North Carolina schools because the Trump administration said they promoted DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion).
Studies show benefits of diverse teaching force
Last school year, 73% of North Carolina’s 90,481 teachers were white. In contrast, only 42% of the state’s 1.4 million public school students were white.
“Teaching is still a largely white middle-class profession,” new Wake County school board member Jennifer Job said during her interview last week to fill a vacant board seat. “We need to make sure that we are doing what we can to recruit teachers of color, teachers who have the same backgrounds as the students they are teaching so that way they can see and connect with them.”
Job used to teach high school English in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools. Job cited the “heartbreaking story” of a student of color being asked by an honors class teacher if she had walked into the wrong room.
There have been multiple efforts at both a state and local level to increase the diversity of North Carolina’s teachers. Advocates of diversity point to studies showing that students of color do better academically when they’re taught by teachers who look like them.
In 2020, a task force formed by then Gov. Roy Cooper adopted a report with 10 recommendations for increasing the number of minority students in North Carolina’s teacher prep programs.
The N.C. Teaching Fellows program added two historically Black colleges and universities — Fayetteville State University and N.C. A&T University — as well as UNC-Pembroke, which historically has served Native American students. The Teaching Fellows program helps subsidize the college costs of some students who agree to teach in the state.
Recommendations for increasing teacher diversity
On Wednesday, the National Council on Teacher Quality released its “Driving Diversity: How Teacher Prep Can Accelerate Progress” report.
The report found that 45% of North Carolina’s teacher prep program produced students who were less diverse than the state’s teacher workforce. North Carolina’s percentage was similar to figures in other states.
“If a state’s teacher prep programs are not producing enough teachers of color to close representation gaps, there is little hope its teacher workforce will mirror the diversity of its population,” according to the new report.
The Council said teacher prep programs and states can accelerate teacher diversity by focusing on three points:
- Recruit people who are interested in teaching into teacher prep programs.
- Support teacher candidates to earn their license, such as helping cover costs.
- Improve hiring and early induction programs to reach the broadest pool of applicants.
“Diversifying the teacher workforce is both urgent and achievable,” the report says. “With intentional recruitment, strong supports for candidates to complete their prep programs, and systemic measures like competitive pay, equitable hiring and inclusive school cultures, states can build the high-quality, diverse teacher workforce students deserve.”
‘Political headwinds’ against teacher diversity
But the new report also recognizes what it calls the “political headwinds” against promoting teacher diversity.
In March, the U.S. Department of Education announced it was eliminating more than $600 million in teacher training grants, including more than $90 million for North Carolina. The Trump administration, which has made eliminating federally funded DEI programs a priority, called the grants “divisive.”
The Department of Education took aim at how grant recipients said they would try to recruit more minority educators to better reflect the demographics of their student populations.
“Many of these grants included teacher and staff recruiting strategies implicitly and explicitly based on race,” the Department of Education said.
The National Council on Teacher Quality also notes in its report what it calls “the ripple effects in the actions of some state legislatures.”
North Carolina is among the states that have passed bills banning the use of DEI in K-12 schools and public universities. The Republican-controlled legislature hasn’t yet had the votes to override vetoes by Democratic Gov. Josh Stein.
“While the challenges are significant, diversifying the teacher workforce remains both essential and within reach,” the report says. “Moving the needle requires investment in policy and programs that create opportunity and remove barriers for people of color to consider teaching.”
