Diversifying the Educator Workforce Collaborative:
Fostering Synergy for Impact
The Diversifying the Educator Workforce (DEW) Collaborative has a deep commitment to educational equity, and we firmly believe that a racially, ethnically, and linguistically diverse educator workforce is vital to improving learning for all students. The movement to diversify the educator workforce has yielded a variety of influential organizations, initiatives, and partnerships across the region. The work often happens in silos, but we believe collaboration is crucial. As a collaborative with access to leaders, educators, and policymakers, we’re dedicated to building synergy among stakeholders to enhance the impact on communities, students, and families.
In August 2021, the Great Schools Partnership, with support from the Barr Foundation, launched a new regional effort—the Diversifying the Educator Workforce (DEW) Collaborative—to rapidly, boldly, and courageously move from concepts to action to increase the racial, ethnic, and linguistic diversity of the New England educator workforce. The imperative is clear: A racially, ethnically, and linguistically diverse educator workforce is vital to closing the inequitable gaps that persist between students of color and their White peers.
The collaborative’s overarching goal is anchored in the recommendations outlined in Increasing the Racial, Ethnic, and Linguistic Diversity of the Educator Workforce: A Call to Action for Leaders, a report from the New England Secondary School Consortium Task Force on Diversifying the Educator Workforce.
Guiding Framework
The collaborative’s overarching goal is anchored in the recommendations outlined in Increasing the Racial, Ethnic, and Linguistic Diversity of the Educator Workforce, a report from the New England Secondary School Consortium Task Force on Diversifying the Educator Workforce. The report, developed based on research and input from a range of stakeholders in each state, specifically identified grounding principles and five areas of action that influence demographic changes in the current educator workforce:
Click the links above to download promising practices and strategies to consider for each area.
New England Teacher and Student Demographics
Regionally, our educator workforce fails to match the racial and ethnic diversity of our students. Across the six New England states, approximately 68.5% of students identify as White. Comparatively, approximately 92.6% of teachers identify as White. This disproportionality that exists at both the regional level as well as at the state level underscores the need for new and innovative pathways to developing a more diverse and representative educator workforce.
Connecticut
Data Sources | Connecticut: Student Data (2022); Educator Data (2022)
*Rounds to 0% or suppressed due to small numbers
*Rounds to 0% or suppressed due to small numbers
Maine
Data Sources | Maine: Student Data (2023); Educator Data (2020)
*Rounds to 0% or suppressed due to small numbers
*Rounds to 0% or suppressed due to small numbers
Massachusetts
Data Sources | Massachusetts​: Student Data (2022); Educator Data (2022)
*Rounds to 0% or suppressed due to small numbers
*Rounds to 0% or suppressed due to small numbers
New Hampshire
Data Sources | New Hampshire: Student Data (2022); Educator Data (2020)
*Rounds to 0% or suppressed due to small numbers
*Rounds to 0% or suppressed due to small numbers
Rhode Island
Data Sources | Rhode Island: Student Data (2022); Educator Data (2021)
*Rounds to 0% or suppressed due to small numbers
*Rounds to 0% or suppressed due to small numbers
Vermont
Data Sources | Vermont: Student Data (2021); Educator Data (2020)
*Rounds to 0% or suppressed due to small numbers
*Rounds to 0% or suppressed due to small numbers
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