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Community Voices: Black teachers alliance calls for diversity in BPS

Black Educators’ Alliance of Massachusetts

The diversity of the city of Boston and of the students served by the Boston Public Schools is not reflected in the teachers serving in the schools.  

More than half the residents of Boston are people of color, and students of color make up 87 percent of the student population in Boston Public Schools. In contrast, 38 percent of Boston Public Schools (BPS) teachers are teachers of color.

Federal court desegregation orders mandate that Boston Public Schools maintain a minimum of 25 percent black teachers and 10 percent “other minority” teachers.  In the 2012-2013 school year, BPS has 22.1 percent black teachers and 16 percent “other minority” teachers.  

The percentage of black teachers actually declined since the 2011-2012 school year and in each of the previous four years.

The low teacher diversity in BPS is due to problems in recruitment, hiring, staffing, retention and monitoring. The school district has not invested in the staff and resources needed to generate an adequate pool of external candidates of color for vacant teacher positions or to build a robust internal pipeline of staff and students for teaching careers.

BPS has not set clear, firm hiring goals for vacant teaching positions and has not held accountable or rewarded school and central administrators for meeting diversity goals.  

The district has too many schools with low or no diversity and some exam schools that do not meet the court-ordered mandate for 25 percent black teachers. BPS has not taken effective action to reduce the disproportionate attrition of black teachers, nor has it maintained the level of monitoring and reporting that ensured that the district achieved compliance with the federal desegregation orders in the past. The Black Educators’ Alliance of Massachusetts (BEAM) believes that BPS has been in noncompliance with teacher desegregation orders for too long, and that it is urgent and imperative that the district improve teacher diversity as a strategy for reducing the persistent achievement gaps.  

BEAM recommends the following immediate steps:

  1. Restore adequate staffing and budget to recruitment such that larger numbers of external candidates of color can be attracted to BPS.
  2. Provide the sustained funding needed to develop a pipeline of licensed paraprofessionals and substitute teachers for teaching positions; revive the TeachBoston program to prepare students for teaching careers.
  3. Set a clear, firm goal for the 2013-2014 school year of full compliance with the 25 percent minimum mandate for black teachers and for substantially improving the representation of Latino teachers; prepare action plans for achieving these goals.
  4. Ensure the retention of new teachers of color by providing Letters of Reasonable Assurance to all provisional teachers of color with satisfactory performance.
  5. Ensure the early hiring of new teachers of color by providing Letters of Commitment to high potential candidates.
  6. Revise the hiring process to ensure that low or no diversity schools improve their diversity and that all three exam schools achieve their 25 percent mandate for black teachers.
  7. Analyze the reasons for disproportionate attrition of black teachers and develop initiatives to reduce the attrition rate; implement an exit interview/survey process for teachers.
  8. Make diversity monitoring and reporting the shared responsibility of the Offices of Equity and of Human Resources; restore the proven effective oversight role to the Office of Equity that ensured compliance with court-ordered teacher staffing mandates for over two decades.
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Dec 17 17:19pm by Concerned Metro Boston Resident [96.252.36.165]

Albeit court desegregation orders, the Boston Public Schools (BPS) may have only 38% teachers of color, among them 22.1% Black teachers. However, as a longtime resident in the Metro Boston,  I can attest that the presence of BPS’ teachers of color far exceed that in many sub/urban and Gateway cities and  towns. The active leadership and voice of Dr. Johnson and Mayor Menino show genuine care for students of color. Contrarily to Dr. Johnson who is “out there” advocating for the students, making sure there is school-home connection, mentoring, outreaching to community and faith leaders as well universities, outside of Boston, Black people have limited leadership, advocacy and physical presence in schools and city administration.  Conversely, in Boston, Mayor Menino demonstrates profound concern vis-à-vis people of color and immigrants. The long existing New Bostonian office is an exemplary model. Placing the future BPS office in Roxbury is an example of his vision to reach out and create a city wide presence in a Black neighborhood.

In terms of teachers of color, though the article states that the number of Black teachers in Boston decreased in 11-12, based on MADESE’s site, the majority of Black teachers in Massachusetts worked in the city of Boston. Out of the 1,638.4 full time equivalent African American teachers, 897.7 taught in Boston. Hence, in 2011-12, there were 740.7 Black teachers for the rest of the 350 Commonwealth cities and towns. Sub/urban, Gateway communities are mostly affected by the absence of teachers and city wide staff of color. As a solution, to fill the gap of limited teachers of color, exurb cities and towns could employ community/family liaisons, outreach workers, school social workers, human service, youth workers, and tutors through Title I, Title III, SES , 21st Century Community Learning Centers’ funds and other state and federal grants that come to municipalities.

Analyzing a number of cities with significant Black population and less than 10 Black teachers, one could only wish that those municipalities have 22, 25 or 38 city wide ethnic minority staff, not alone 22.1%, 25%, or 38% teachers of color. For the time being, I would suggest BEAM, NAACP, Massachusetts Black Clergy Association, nonprofits in the Hub, state and local government as well as other agencies and institutions with state and/or national dominions to reach out to voiceless people of color, in this case people of African descent residing in many cities outside of Boston. See example below of Black teachers in relations to the Black population in some Metro Boston towns.

Concerned “medium size” town citizen

Example of less than 10 Black Teachers (BT) in 2011-12 in 10 towns with a significant Black Population (BP) based on US Census 2010

Malden (3 BT, BP 8,796), Lowell (6.0 BT , BP 7,238);Everett (4.4 BT , BP 5,962);

Medford (5.4 BT, BP 4,939), Waltham  (2.5 BT,  BP 3,651); Chelsea (3.4 BT, BP 2,986)

Quincy (0.0 BT , BP 4,248); Revere, (2.0 BT, BP 2,518) ; Fitchburg (4.0 BT,BP 2,049);

Haverhill (4.0 BT,  BP 2,042);

 

 

 
 

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