During teacher shortage, University of Northern Colorado champions diversity in the classroom
DENVER — It’s no secret that America is experiencing a nationwide teacher shortage. While the COVID-19 certainly exacerbated the issue, research shows the problem is more complicated.
The National Education Association’s research found that in addition to the pandemic, the shortage has been made worse by too many openings and not enough hires, layoffs and the struggling educator pipeline.
Since the early 2000s, the Center for Urban Education at the University of Northern Colorado’s Denver Center has worked to increase the number of teachers in Colorado schools with an emphasis on educator diversity.
Rosanne Fulton is the director of the Center for Urban Education. Proudly, she shared that 70% of teacher candidates in the program are people of color.
Fulton said that as a white woman and long-time educator, she recognizes the importance and power of representation in the classroom for students of color. Fulton said each year, the program has a success rate of graduating 50 teachers who then go on to work in Denver schools.
One of the main strategies to integrate newly graduated teachers into classrooms is to build strong relationships with the principals within Denver schools, Fulton said.
She added that principals can refer individuals to receive their teaching license at the Center for Urban Education. And because the Center for Urban Education is part of UNC, the program can help teachers apply for federal money to pay for tuition and explore scholarship opportunities.
“What we want to do is model really good teaching so that when they graduate, they have this idea in their head about the kind of teacher they can be. One who serves all children,” said Fulton.
Joanna Ross, the assistant director for the Center for Urban Education, echoed Fulton’s remarks about representation in the classroom. As a Black woman, Ross said her physical appearance and hairstyles are things her students of color can relate to.
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“It’s just another layer where we can connect and talk about things, and they learn more about me, and they’re like… ‘Oh, so you know the pain of sitting there and getting your hair yanked and all this stuff…’ and I’m like, ‘Yes, I know!’” said Ross.
The Pew Research Center shows that nearly 80% of public school teachers in America identified as white as of the 2017-18 school year. Fewer than 1 in 10 teachers were either Black, Hispanic or Asian American.
In Denver, a majority of public school students identify as Hispanic or Black. Meanwhile, more than 70% of the teachers are white.
The Center for Urban Education hosts about 120 teacher candidates. Ross and Fulton acknowledge that solving the teacher shortage and lack of diversity within public schools doesn’t have a one-size-fits-all solution. Still, they are steadfast in continuing to encourage the passion for teaching.
Ross said within her twelve years of teaching she has had students email her and ask her to attend their high school graduations.
“It’s just showing up for people who maybe they do, or they don’t have someone else to show up for them, you know. I think that’s what it really comes down to is, just the human-ness to it,” Ross said. “Students learn [from] people they like and that they know who care about them.”
Lindsey Ford is a multimedia journalist at Rocky Mountain PBS. You can reach her at lindseyford@rmpbs.org.