Chapter 4: Changing the Face of Teacher Preparation: A Collective Mentorship Practice

Historically, most classroom teachers do not represent the cultural and racial identities of the students that they teach, and even today 80% of practicing public school teachers in the United States are White (National Center for Educational Statistics [NCES], 2023). In Michigan, the trends are more alarming, and while the state’s student population is growing more diverse, an astounding 90% of the state’s teachers are White. While teachers of all racial and ethnic identities are fleeing the profession, the exodus is also disproportionate, and in recent years the Michigan education workforce experienced an 18% decrease of African American teachers (Stackhouse, 2018). This demographic chasm is implicated in the school structures and systems that sustain inequality and opportunity gaps (Noguera & Wing, 2006). Black students are less likely to be referred to gifted programs by White teachers (Grissom & Redding, 2016) and more likely to face disciplinary action (Okonofua & Eberhardt, 2015). There is a wealth of research (Kutsyuruba et al., 2015) that shows that punishments which exclude students negatively impact students and the overall school culture. Inversely, when Black students are assigned to a Black teacher, they are less likely to drop out of high school and more likely to aspire to college (Gershenson et al., 2021). Lack of representation in our schools is an enduring problem and is so deeply entrenched that a White face in front of a classroom is the expected norm. Re-envisioning the induction and mentoring of traditionally marginalized early educators is not only a matter of remedying the troubling attrition rates but also a matter of justice.