JET Joins Panel for the Massachusetts Educator Diversity Act Kick-off
On March 30, 2023, Latinos for Education hosted a Kick-Off Event for the Massachusetts Educator Diversity Act. Intended to promote diversity in the teaching workforce, several groups coalesced in their support of the bill.
The Kick-Off event had over 200 registrants, 168 attendees and over 90 folks take action , reflecting a statewide desire to see a shift in the teaching workforce. If passed, the bill can potentially be the catalyst for change in classrooms across Massachusetts.
The meeting started off with framing the Educator Diversity Act initiatives. Patrick Tutwiler, MA State Secretary of Education, talked about how as a leader, he has worked on encouraging diversity within education. He mentions how this act is, ultimately, about improving outcomes for students of color in the state-and that recruitment, retention, and training of teachers of color is critical to this outcome. The opening speakers, including Leader Alice Peisch, named this as well. She specifically talked about the necessity of teachers of color and their immense value within schools. She named how educators of color have an especially profound impact on Black and Latino students and their success in school. Other speakers mentioned how the bill seeks to transform the process of becoming a teacher within the state of Massachusetts itself by making the MTELs more accessible, naming specific in-school supports that would be offered to teachers of color, and encouraging aspects of school culture that foster diverse working environments.
Several chairpersons and committee members also took the floor to name the critical effects of the Educator Diversity Act. Bud Williams, for example, mentioned the expected powerful impact of the bill in parts of Massachusetts that have a high population of students of color, who are currently served predominantly by white teachers. Others told personal, compelling stories about the impact a teacher of color had on their lives, touching on the unique ways they supported them, served them, and ultimately helped them grow as students and people.
As a member of the Educator Diversity Act Coalition, JET’s Operations Manager Natalie Jortner offered remarks at the meeting, naming the organization’s mission of promoting teacher diversification. She shared how the organization lifts up, trains, and supports paraprofessionals, the majority of whom identify as folks of color and already work within the communities in which they live, to become teachers. She shared how a state initiative to provide alternate pathways to certification will allow more paraprofessionals the opportunity to become teachers, without facing some of the current barriers in the teacher certification process.