An experienced administrator with more than two decades of experience in the California educational system, Dr. Helen K. Foster serves as Superintendent of Coalinga-Huron Unified School District in Coalinga, California. In addition to her everyday work, Dr. Helen K. Foster remains active in the state’s educational community at large through membership in the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA).
ACSA recently highlighted a study by the National Assessment of Educational Progress that shows improvements in the achievement gap for students of color when they have access to teachers of color in their school environments. The data, presented in a report called “Diversifying the Teaching Profession: How to Recruit and Retain Teachers of Color,” shows that there is still a disparity in achievement between students of color or from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds compared to white children and those from affluent backgrounds. More diversity in teacher hiring can help mitigate that gap.
The data also reveals that, while teachers of color are being hired at a higher frequency, the rate of increase is actually slow and much of its effectiveness is being offset by ongoing attrition in the profession. Students of color are far more likely to graduate, earn better test scores, and go on to college success when they have teachers of color in high school, which is why the study authors stress the need to continue to find ways to get them into the classroom.
