New program aims to recruit more Black educators to Colorado
Data from the Colorado Department of Education showed only 1.6% of teachers in the state identify as Black.
By Cole Sullivan, 9News
COLORADO, USA — Teach for America has partnered with a Colorado Springs nonprofit to offer $10,000 in salary incentives to attract Black educators to Colorado. Currently, fewer than 2% of teachers in the state identify as Black, according to Colorado Department of Education (CDE) data.
The new effort, a partnership with the Sachs Foundation, will work to create community “cohorts” among new Black educators, who may be among the only teachers of color in their districts.
“We cannot have high-quality instruction without a diverse teaching workforce,” said Prateek Dutta, the executive director of Teach for America’s Colorado chapter. “Just having one Black teacher for a Black child decreases absenteeism, decreases suspension rates, drastically increases college attendance and persistence by as high as 40%.”