Opportunities

We are changing the tragic, ever diminishing funnel of the educational pipeline for teachers of color through this project by offering  mentoring, Grow Your Own pipelines or pathways for high school students, peer cohorts for students at all levels, developing positive cultures in districts and buildings, and induction, professional development that promotes educators of color using their gifts. Our new funnel above shows more Black, Indigenous, and People of Color educators being developed, recruited, mentored, and retained.

Career Exploration: Our strategies include the identification of students who are Black, Indigenous, or People of Color and take YouScience validated assessments, showing the aptitudes, talents, and interests associated with a possible career in education. 

YouScience assesses 15 domains to match teens with possible career choices.  Teachers, coaches, and other staff will be incentivized to recommend students who seem to show characteristics aligned with teaching even if the teens have not yet taken the YouScience exam. The career exploration process will feature teaching as a way of creating community change and emphasize the urgently needed cultural capital of students. 

Grow Your Own Pathways: Many of the districts that received Diversifying Educators grants are actively creating teacher academies/pathways for high school students with 12 credits of College Credit Plus (CCP) in education and required English composition courses. The courses and curriculum are consistent with Sinclair Community College's work to create articulation agreements (pathways) with each partner IHEs that addresses credits needed from high school to community college to four-year university. Students also earn a certificate in trauma-informed care in education and will ultimately graduate with a Bachelors' degree in teacher education from Miami University., Wright State University, or the University of Dayton. The districts and Sinclair are designing dynamic curriculum materials taught by teachers approved as adjunct instructors.

Mentoring Products: Students during high school will be mentored by college students from IHEs, majoring in teacher education. These pre-service teachers will receive stipends for mentoring. In turn, high school BIPOC youth will also benefit from opportunities to tutor and mentor younger middle school students, which provides "in vivo" exposure to the educator role. The development of mentoring training materials and procedures will be led by the University of Dayton and Miami University staff working together.

Creating a Positive Culture: Professional development is an integral part of creating a positive culture for diverse educators and students.  Wright State University is the official applicant and will be leading efforts to support professional development. 

Other Products: Some of the Diversifying Educator Districts are providing loan forgiveness or tuition reimbursement, licensure exam supports, collaborative recruitment, paraprofessional pathways, professional certificates, and internship opportunities. 

Progress: Click here to track the progress of the grant's implementation.