Mounting evidence supporting the advantages of a diverse teacher workforce prompts policymakers to scrutinize existing recruitment pathways. Following four cohorts of Maryland public high-school students over 12 years reveals several insights. Early barriers require timely interventions, aiding students of color in achieving educational milestones…

Academics, policymakers, and practitioners agree that there is a need to address barriers to entry into teaching in order to address teacher shortages and diversify the profession. Research finds that student outcomes are improved when students have teachers of the same race and/or ethnicity. However, as the K-12 student population grows more…

This article discusses the Faculty Mentoring Cohort (FMC), a pilot program designed to bolster new faculty retention at St. Mary's College of Maryland (SMCM), a teaching-focused, public honors college in the rural southern Chesapeake region. The FMC matches two established faculty members with two newly hired instructors to create between five and…

Salaries are one of the most powerful policy levers states and school districts can use to attract qualified, effective, and diverse teachers. What role do states play in supporting strategic use of salaries? This report examines the state teacher compensation policies that influence districts' potential strategic use of teacher pay. It analyzes…

Studies consistently show benefits of teacher-student race/ethnicity matching, with some suggestion that these effects are driven by role modeling. We explore this hypothesis by examining effects on the educational outcomes of Black and Hispanic students for exposure to same-race/ethnicity professional staff (e.g., administrators, counselors),…

Engagement in Phase 2 focused on refining the Phase 1 foundational elements such as the mission, vision, values, priorities and enablers, as well as identifying emerging goals and metrics. In addition to the engagement methods outlined in first phase, this phase involved discussions centered around data focused on specific regions in Maryland…

We use data from 2015-2016 to document faculty representation and wage gaps by race-ethnicity and gender in six fields at selective public universities. Consistent with widely available information, Black, Hispanic, and female professors are underrepresented and White and Asian professors are overrepresented in our data. Disadvantaged minority and…

While new teachers bring energy and passion into their classrooms and schools, they can find themselves incredibly challenged as they learn how to plan and implement lessons, collect and use data to inform their instructional practices, build relationships with students and families, manage classroom behavior, and meet the varying academic,…

While new teachers bring energy and passion into their classrooms and schools, they can find themselves incredibly challenged as they learn how to plan and implement lessons, collect, and use data to inform their instructional practices, build relationships with students and families, manage classroom behavior, and meet the varying academic,…

In 2014, for the first time in U.S. public schools, the percentage of Hispanic, African American, Asian, and other students of color exceeded the percentage of white students, creating a majority-minority system that reflects the mosaic of cultures, experiences, languages, and religions that characterize this nation. In stark contrast, an…

When Dr. Kumea Shorter-Gooden took on her newly created job this month at the University of Maryland's flagship College Park campus, she assumed a challenge at the school with a lot riding on her shoulders--helping the University of Maryland strengthen its diversity efforts and, thus, its relevance to the state in the future and standing among the…

The author reports on the dismissal of a longtime diversity administrator Dr. Cordell Black, combined with a declining minority enrollment and a deflated state budget, which has raised concerns about the University of Maryland's commitment to diversity and resulted to student protests. For years, the university has worked hard to reverse the…

"Looking Closer" is the eighth biennial report to SREB states on their progress in meeting SREB's Challenge to Lead goals for education. Each customized state report documents progress on both measurable outcomes and state policies. Through effective policy implementation, the goals can help states drive improvements in student…

This study sought to learn about African American community members' perceptions regarding their satisfaction with local elementary schools in predominantly white, rural school districts in Maryland. The research was conducted in rural counties because much of the attention about the achievement gap has focused on urban areas, where necessary…

This article describes how Dr. Ben Vinson III, the new director of the Center for Africana Studies at Johns Hopkins University and a specialist in Latin American history, is strengthening the center's internationalist orientation. While it took more than three decades for Johns Hopkins University to approve a Black studies program in its arts and…