Nationwide, there is a significant disparity between the racial and ethnic diversity of our K-12 educator workforce and that of the student population they serve. Yet, studies show that a diverse educator workforce benefits all students, and especially students of color.
In North Carolina:
Recognizing that North Carolina’s K-12 teacher population does not reflect the racial, ethnic, and linguistic diversity of its student population, The Hunt Institute, the North Carolina Business Committee for Education, and the Office of North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper partnered to hold the DRIVE Summit to draw attention to these disparities and create a forum to discuss issues related to diversifying the educator workforce.
Throughout the day-long Summit, state and national experts and practitioners spoke to the challenges and opportunities facing the state as it relates to recruiting, preparing, supporting, and retaining educators of color. Governor Roy Cooper’s announcement of Executive Order 113 establishing the DRIVE Task Force cemented the state’s commitment to this issue.
Read the Issue Brief and Key Takeaways from The DRIVE Summit below.
Following the DRIVE Summit, Governor Cooper appointed 34 members to the task force, representing stakeholder groups across North Carolina’s educator pipeline. The Task Force was charged with creating a plan of action to increase racial, ethnic, and linguistic diversity within North Carolina’s educator workforce. This plan, presented to the Governor on January 1, 2021, includes analysis of the current landscape of educator diversity in North Carolina as well as potential strategies, metrics, and funding streams that can be utilized to inform the state’s work in this space moving forward.
The Task Force began its work in May of 2020 and met four times throughout the remainder of the year. The meetings dates and topics were as follows:
Read the Final Report as well as the Issue Briefs and Key Takeaway documents from the four meetings below.
Final Report
Meeting 1: The Landscape, History, and Imperative
Meeting 2: Recruitment
Meeting 3: Preparation
Meeting 4: Support and Retention