Diverse Teachers for Diverse Schools

This 19-month project supported the development of innovative strategies for recruiting a diverse teaching force and the establishment of a teacher mentoring and induction program in collaboration with a consortium of Passaic County charter schools, all of which enrolled their Alternate Route Teachers with the regional training center operated by Rutgers University—Center for Effective School Practices. Funded by the New Jersey Department of Education for $750,000, this project was driven by the expressed interests of school leaders who wished to leverage the impact of research studies demonstrating gains in learning for minority students when taught by teachers from similar backgrounds. The goals of this project were to: Increase representation of Black and Latinx candidates hired to teach in collaborating schools, particularly in STEM-related or ELL classrooms. Ensure collaborating schools had knowledge and systems for supporting underrepresented candidates with state certification requirements and for helping them access financial incentive options. Enhance the capacity of school-assigned mentoring teams to establish more effective mentoring relationships with teaching candidates from underrepresented groups. Establish systems and resources to enable collaborating schools to enhance and sustain their recruitment, mentoring, and induction initiatives beyond the grant period. Conduct and disseminate ongoing research on the implementation and impact of the initiative to recruit and retain teaching candidates from underrepresented groups.