OPINION: There is no better time to focus on educator diversity by Dr. Javaid Siddiqi and Secretary John B. King, Jr.
January 22, 2021
Op-Ed Publication Date: January 21 2020, New York Amsterdam News
As the pandemic continues to bring challenges to communities across the country and as learning looks nothing like it has in the past, we have a unique opportunity to reimagine our education system. Recognizing that pandemic-related budget constraints will be significant, it is more important than ever that we identify high-impact policies and programs that will make the biggest difference for students. The DRIVE (Developing a Representative and Inclusive Vision for Education) Task Force, established by North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, recently completed its work to study the state of educator diversity and make recommendations for improvement, and we believe that these recommendations can lead to an increase in the number of educators of color in North Carolina and be a model for other states to follow.