Every Child Deserves an Excellent Education

All of our children deserve an excellent education so they are positioned to share in the abundance of life.  Our community needs all of its young people prepared to become active and engaged citizens possessing the knowledge and skills required to move us forward.  And yet, Minnesota’s graduation gap between Black and white students ranks among the worst in the United States.  This is unacceptable.

Studies that looked at Black boys in the elementary grades who did or didn’t have a Black male teacher showed dramatically different outcomes:  those with a Black male teacher were 29% less likely to drop out of school years later (this number was 39% for very low income Black students).

Other studies demonstrate that students learn more when taught by a teacher of the same color and ethnicity.  These students score higher in math and reading at a statistically meaningful level.  This situation serves white students well – because most teachers are white.  We recall former President George W. Bush’s recognition that our nations student success gap is caused, in part, by “the soft bigotry of low expectations;” by teachers who do not believe in their students.  When classes of predominately Black and brown students have a teacher of the same race or ethnicity, they are held to high expectations 66% of the time, compared to only 35% of the time when they have a teacher who did not share their race or ethnicity.

Current Situation

The demographics of our community are changing and nowhere is this more apparent than in the hallways and classrooms of our schools.  The Minneapolis and St Paul public school systems serve approximately 70% students of color while the teacher corps is only 17% of color.  These trends are occurring in suburban districts and charter schools as well.

A World of Difference

What is the effect on a child’s sense of self if he or she sees only teachers who do not look like them and do not relate to their life experiences?  What is the cumulative effect on a Black child, who after 6 years in elementary school, has seen only white teachers and administrators?

A Black man understands the life of a Black child in a way that another person cannot. And that makes a world of difference in how the Black student sees himself, how he comes to value (or not) education, where he sees himself in the future, and what he does in the future.

The fact is that while cultural competency is a skill all teachers can and should learn to better serve all of their students, there are additional social, academic and emotional benefits for students of color when they are taught by teachers who look like them.