Here is what we need more of in education

Part 1

I took to LinkedIn recently with a series of posts titled “Things I want to see more of in education.”

In my work, as someone who wants to see system level change in schools, my conversations are often about what is wrong and what we should see less of in schools.

This series was inspired by things I see happening in small pockets of the world but would love to see far more of because something that is happening is RIGHT!

So here’s part 1:

More Black school founders, leaders, and teachers. Period.

American educators are overwhelmingly white

Think about this anecdotally first. How many Black teachers did you have growing up?

Think hard, I’ll wait.

If your answer is “none” or “very few” you’re not alone. That’s become a common American school experience as about 80% of teachers are white.

School leadership largely follows this trend. About 78% of public school principals are white with charter schools (which are public schools) coming in at about 66%.

There is a ton more data to dig into but I think the point is pretty clear here. School leaders and teachers are overwhelmingly white.

Why does this matter? Is it just a question of representation?

No. It’s more. It’s a question of effectiveness, purpose, and success for an entire population of students.

According to the RAND report, 2 in 5 white principals felt that they were “mostly” or “completely” unprepared to work with poor and minority students. The teacher responses to this question look almost identical.

So if we use this data we know that a large portion of white principals and teachers do not even feel equipped to educate Black students.

A large part of teaching is about relating to students.

I grew up in the hood. I lived in a neighborhood that was all Black and Latinx. Even though I attended diverse schools most

So this leaves us with two options: train or recruit.

Black people need Black people

Someone once asked me, “What is the best way to reach students of color?”

I told him “First, I’m not a person of color, I’m Black. Second, I won’t speak for communities other than my own. Third, I don’t have all the answers but I think I know where to start. Build a system of schools by and with our people. No one will serve Black people better than Black people. Black people need Black people.

According to an article about principal diversity on the74million.org, “When a school gains a black principal, black teachers are more likely to be hired and retained…” So Black principals are good for Black teachers and we know Black students benefit from Black teachers.

Here is what the Brookings Institute has to say about the effect on Black students:

“Research shows that having a Black teacher, in particular, does a lot of good for students, especially minority students. Black students who have one Black teacher by third grade are 7% more likely to graduate high school and 13% more likely to enroll in college. After having two Black teachers, Black students’ likelihood of enrolling in college increases by 32%.”

So the thing I want to see more in education today is more Black school founders, more Black school teachers and more Black school leaders.

Period.