Currently, about 4.3% of Connecticut educators are Hispanic or Latino, according to state Department of Education data.
The same information shows in the 2016-2017 school year, 91.4% of certified, full-time staff educators in Connecticut were white.
According to a report by Hartford Courant, Connecticut school districts have hired more than 1,900 educators of color over the past five years — nearly doubling a goal set by the State Board of Education to increase the number of educators who are not white by about 1,000. Approximately 90% of educators in the state are white, while almost half of Connecticut students are people of color.
Governor Ned Lamont says more work needs to be done. “Numerous studies have shown that students of color achieve better educational outcomes when they have teachers of color in the classroom, and as our student body becomes more diverse we should be doing everything we can to reflect that diversity among the educators who are mentoring and inspiring our next generation of young people,” Lamont said.
To continue diversifying Connecticut’s educator workforce, the state is focusing on several strategies, including Educators Rising, an initiative that engages high school students interested in becoming teachers, and NextGen Educators, a partnership with Central Connecticut State University that brings college students studying education into public school classrooms.
