FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tues., February 18, 2025
Contact: media@edtrust.org

The Majority of Students in the U.S. are Children of Color. Their Teachers Should Represent Them

Statement from EdTrust on the Department of Education’s $600 Million Cuts to Teacher Training Grants

WASHINGTON – “At a time when the country faces a lingering teacher shortage and stagnating assessment scores, it is nonsensical for the Department of Education to cut funding allocated to attract and retain a diverse workforce of excellent educators who are adequately prepared to authentically teach an increasingly diverse American student body.

“Teachers are the most important in-school factor in improving student outcomes. The research is clear that teachers of color benefit ALL students — having a Black teacher in fourth and fifth grades improved test scores and reduced chronic absenteeism for Black and white students, with effects lingering into high school — particularly for students of color. Black students who have a Black teacher are more likely to graduate from high school and to enroll in college. Suspension rates drop for Black and Latino students when they’re taught by a Latino teacher. Despite these positive effects, the racial makeup of the educator workforce does not match the student body in any state.

“We cannot lose sight of the fact that the majority of the U.S. K-12 student population has been children of color — and has been for more than a decade. Students of color deserve nothing but the best teachers and, more importantly, to be represented in the classroom. These funding cuts to essential teacher preparation programs, on top of efforts to block diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, end crucial education research, limit the teaching of inclusive curriculum, and promote school vouchers, are nothing short of an attack on all American teachers, students, and families. Prejudice and racism couched as ‘ending divisive ideology,’ will only harm our collective future.”

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About EdTrust
EdTrust is committed to advancing policies and practices to dismantle the racial and economic barriers embedded in the American education system. Through our research and advocacy, EdTrust improves equity in education from preschool through college, engages diverse communities dedicated to education equity and justice, and increases political and public will to build an education system where students will thrive.