Increasing School Leader Diversity in Georgia
Why School Leader Diversity MattersAll students, regardless of race or ethnicity, benefit from having teachers and school leaders of…
December 19, 2022 by EdTrust 
December 19, 2022 by EdTrust
Why School Leader Diversity Matters
All students, regardless of race or ethnicity, benefit from having teachers and school leaders of color. School leadership is one of the most important in-school factors that affect students’ social, emotional, and academic development. Access to same-race school leaders can positively shape education experiences for students of color, including higher math achievement and greater representation in gifted programs. Further, students of color should have the same opportunity that their White peers have to see same-race school leaders which can positively influence their identity development and future aspirations.
In addition to their direct impact on students, school leaders are central to recruiting, retaining, and developing strong teachers. Since principals of color are often more likely to hire and retain teachers of color, increasing school leader diversity is a key lever for addressing educational inequities.
Increased school leader diversity positively impact s student social, emotional, and academic development (SEAD). Recent data indicates that only 22% of principals in the U.S. are people of color, compared with 54% of students. As the nation continues to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, state and district leaders must double-down their recruitment and retention efforts to ensure that students have equitable access to strong school leaders with diverse backgrounds who are focused on accelerating learning and building strong relationships with students.
To provide advocates and policymakers with context on this important issue, Ed Trust partnered with New Leaders to conduct a statewide and district-specific analysis of student and school leader demographics in Georgia public schools. This state has the potential to develop a strong pipeline of school leaders from diverse backgrounds: In addition to having a racially and geographically diverse student population, Georgia is home to 10 historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and 10 current or emerging Hispanic-serving institutions (HSIs). This brief provides recommendations for state and district leaders in Georgia to develop these strong pipelines to create a diverse school leader workforce.