We need more mentor teachers of colour

In the decade following the US Supreme Court’s 1954 ruling in Brown v. Board of Education, tens of thousands of Black teachers and school leaders lost their jobs, as white school boards integrated student bodies but closed Black schools and froze out Black educators. The repercussions of that purge are felt to this day, as the latest civil rights data attests, according to the Tribune News Service.

During the 2023–24 school year, the US Department of Education found, nearly 75% of public school teachers were white as compared with just 44% of students. Latino students represented nearly 30% of enrollment, but just 11% of teachers. Black students accounted for 15%, while Black teachers made up just 9%.

To policymakers and school leaders, these numbers demand more than another recruitment campaign. They require attention to the role that highly qualified teachers of colour could play in diversifying the profession.

States, school districts and educator preparation programs have invested in decades of recruitment for aspiring teachers of colour through scholarships, alternative certification programs, teacher residencies and “grow-your-own” initiatives. But recruiting racially diverse candidates — made exponentially more difficult by the blowback against diversity, equity and inclusion programs and policies — is not the same as building a profession in which new educators of colour are welcomed, supported and encouraged to succeed by skilled mentors.

Research has demonstrated the long-term benefit that having teachers of colour has on students of colour, as well as on white students. Studies have found that Black and Latino students taught by teachers of the same racial background experience the strongest improvements in academic outcomes, well-being and educational aspirations. The implications extend beyond merely who leads a classroom.

An accomplished mentor teacher of colour can help a novice instructor critically examine deficit assumptions about students of colour, interpret classroom interactions through a more culturally responsive lens, and recognise how disciplinary choices based on beliefs about good behaviour can reproduce inequitable consequences for students and their families.

These possibilities are not automatic because a teacher shares the racial identity of their students. Nor should teachers of colour be expected to educate colleagues or mentees about racism without adequate preparation, institutional support and increased compensation. Yet too often, mentors are selected because they are available, and not necessarily because they are qualified. Such arrangements disadvantage accomplished teachers by adding more responsibilities without adequate training or pay, especially in under-resourced schools.

The result is troubling: We invest in recruiting new teachers of colour while neglecting the conditions that would enable existing teachers of colour to mentor, develop and retain them. Recent civil rights data underscore why this matters. NPR recently reported that more than 720,000 students across the nation attend schools in which fewer than half of teachers are fully certified. Nearly three-quarters of these students are Black or Latino. The same data reveals persistent disparities in exclusionary disciplinary practices, especially for Black students.

These patterns demand more than recruitment campaigns. They require educational leaders to recognise decisions and policies that reproduce these outcomes. And doing so requires structural change.

First, states and the federal government should dedicate funding to recruit, prepare, compensate and retain accomplished mentor teachers, with attention to expanding opportunities for teachers of colour.

These investments should include protected mentoring time and advancement opportunities.

Second, schools and universities should establish rigorous standards for selecting and preparing mentor teachers. These standards should include demonstrated instructional effectiveness, culturally responsive practices and expertise coaching novices. Third, state agencies should examine exactly who mentors aspiring teachers.