Across our region, school districts are working to recruit a more diverse pool of teachers who better reflect the students and communities they serve. Clackamas Education Service District will expand its contributions to that effort thanks to a $200,000 grant awarded in spring 2023.
Meyer Memorial Trust’s Oregon Justice for Black Lives initiative awarded the grant to the Clackamas Diverse Educator Pathways program run by Clackamas ESD to help racially, culturally and linguistically diverse classified staff become teachers. The grant will be used to recruit and retain more Black educators in Oregon classrooms through two major initiatives:
- Collaborating with multiple stakeholders to encourage recruitment of Black teacher candidates into higher education programs, and support them in their success through an affinity mentoring program and retention assistance
- Gathering data to inform system changes on behalf of Black youth, families and staff through a program called Brilliant Conversations
The goals of the grant are to increase the number of new Black teacher candidates who have completed or are earning credit hours toward an educator license; create a successful affinity mentoring program; and collaborate with multiple institutional partners to build a strategic plan for K-12 employment systems change. Grant funds must be spent by fall 2024.
“This grant award is a major step forward in our regional ‘Bringing Black Joy to Education’ initiative, and is the result of a community partnership to focus on tangible solutions to increasing diversity in our teacher workforce,” said Desi Nicodemus, Clackamas ESD’s teacher pathway navigator. “Through this grant, we’ll create a greater sense of belonging and joy for Black youth, families and staff by changing systems and increasing the representation of Black educators in Oregon classrooms.”
