When: Monday, April 19, 2021, 2:00 - 3:00 p.m. EDT
What: Diversifying the teaching force could be a key step to closing student achievement gaps and moving schools closer to equity goals. In their new book, “Teacher Diversity and Student Success: Why Racial Representation Matters in the Classroom,” Seth Gershenson, Constance Lindsay, and Brookings Senior Fellow Michael Hansen present nuanced policy recommendations to increase teacher diversity in classrooms and promote more inclusive schools.
The authors address the historic and contemporary factors that have kept people of color out of teaching, synthesize the research showing the benefits of same-race teacher exposure, and argue that policies focused on improving teacher quality should take race explicitly into consideration.
On April 19, the Brown Center for Education Policy at Brookings will host a webinar to discuss the book and the importance of diversifying the teacher workforce. The authors will be joined by policy experts for a conversation on the mechanics behind increasing teacher diversity, policy recommendations to address inequalities, and how the change could benefit generations of students to come.
Viewers can submit questions for speakers by emailing events@brookings.edu or via Twitter at @BrookingsEd by using #TeacherDiversity.