Diversity Public School Teachers Are Disproportionately White,

Diversity Public school teachers are disproportionately white, middle-class females, in spite of the student body becoming increasingly diverse across the nation. As many as ninety percent of grade school teachers are white, but as many as thirty percent of students are persons of color, according to an article by Christine I.

Bennett entitled "Enhancing Ethnic Diversity at a Big Ten University Through Project TEAM." The under-representation of teachers from various ethnic minority groups is a detriment for students of color, who are commonly placed in remedial learning classes and who have relatively low rates of high school completion. In order to correct this imbalance and provide students of color with an enriched learning environment, a group of researchers designed and implemented a program at several Indiana University campuses to recruit, support, and help graduate students of color in an educational tract.

Called Project Transformative Educational Achievement Model (TEAM), the program is geared especially to increase the numbers of certified teachers from under-represented minority groups. After implementing the program on the Bloomington, Indianapolis, and Gary campuses, the researchers surveyed students who participated in TEAM to assess perceptions. Results exhibit a positive response among minority students participating in TEAM, who were able to create a sense of community on a predominantly white campus and were offered opportunities for personal, social, academic, and financial support.

Moreover, TEAM was designed to boost positive ethnic identity awareness. This study of TEAM shows how a relatively simple program can have a positive impact on minority students. TEAM is unique in that it not only offers avenues for financial assistance but also provides some of the social and psychological tools necessary for.