Dive Brief:

• Branch Alliance for Educator Diversity is launching a BranchED initiative to help empower minority-serving institutions (MSIs) through coaching, connecting schools to each other and to other resources, and elevating the profiles of the programs to encourage more diversity among public school teachers, Education Week reports. 
• Over 50% of public school students in the U.S. are considered minority populations while only 20% of public school teachers are non-white.
• Most non-white teachers receive their training at minority-serving institutions that make up just 13% of all the teacher-preparation programs in the United States, making them ripe ground for recruitment.

Dive Insight:

As minority populations outpace white students in many school districts across the country, the striking lack of diversity among teaching staff becomes more apparent. Some people suggest that fewer black and Hispanics enter the teaching field because of the lack of non-white teacher role models, while the lack of mentoring has been cited as another cause.

This new BranchEd model hopes to address the mentoring angle of the problem by connecting with minority students who are considering the field of education, helping them overcome obstacles that stand in their way and connecting them with schools seeking teachers. It will be interesting to watch how this program develops over the next few years.

Tapping into historically-black colleges and universities seems a great place to start. Many administrators are looking for quality educators who share a common cultural background with more of their students and who can serve not only as teachers, but as role models for success. As the number of effective minority educators find their way in the classroom, maybe the next generation will find more inspiration to become educators as well.