Creating Conditions for Success: How Districts Can Build and Sustain a Stronger and More Diverse Educator Workforce

In today’s increasingly diverse world, the future success of our students depends on their access to learning environments led by effective and culturally diverse educators. However, despite the critical need, too many barriers prevent people of color from pursuing and thriving in teaching or school leadership roles. While 55% of U.S. students are children of color, only 22% of teachers and 23% of principals reflect this diversity. This gap has significant consequences for our education system—but it doesn’t have to be this way.

The One Million Teachers of Color (1MToC) Campaign’s new brief, Creating Conditions for Success: How Districts Can Build and Sustain a Stronger and More Diverse Educator Workforce, provides key insights from district and school leaders who are addressing these challenges. Based on interviews and focus groups with 30 leaders across 15 states, this policy brief offers a research-backed, holistic approach to increasing the representation of educators of color in our schools.

Key Findings:

• The Power of Educator Diversity: Diverse educators boost academic achievement, ensure equitable access to rigorous coursework, and reduce inequitable discipline, benefiting all students.
• Barriers to Diversity: Financial challenges, difficult working conditions, and racial bias hinder the recruitment and retention of educators of color.
• Promising Solutions: Addressing systemic bias, forming partnerships, and recognizing the broader social factors influencing education are helping districts improve educator diversity.
• Key Actions for District Leaders: To strengthen workforce diversity, local leaders should set clear diversity goals, create inclusive environments, invest in talent pipelines, and support educators of color through professional development.

This policy brief is more than just research—it’s a call to action. Our collective efforts to support diverse educators will ensure that all students, regardless of their background, have the opportunity to thrive in a world that increasingly values cultural competence and diversity.

Read the brief