Educator Diversity

Research shows that all students benefit from having teachers of color. However, schools face persistent problems both attracting and retaining a diverse teaching force. RFA has a growing body of work, funded in part by the William Penn Foundation and The Heinz Endowments, to examine these issues of recruitment and retention of teachers of color. A part of this work includes a study on the loss of Black teachers in the Philadelphia area district and charter schools. And, on April 23, 2022, RFA will host a Teach-In on the need for more educator diversity to showcase the organization’s research in this area and share strategies and insights for how states and school districts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and beyond can work toward hiring and keeping more teachers of color.