Hispanic students don't have to be taught by Hispanic teachers in order to learn well, but there are benefits to having plenty of Hispanic teachers in schools where there is a high Hispanic student population. Not only are fewer Hispanic students referred to academic and behavioral special programs when their teacher is Hispanic, but these teachers can serve as mentors and role models.
Yet, the same ethnic background of teacher and student is only one factor among many that research has shown to have an effect on closing the achievement gap for Hispanic youth. If we only focus on getting more Hispanic educators, making it an "end all" and forgetting other factors that research has shown to be effective in helping to close the achievement gap for Hispanic youth, we may not see the degree of positive results we would like to see.
It has been predicted that we will have up to 150,000 new students in our Utah schools within the next decade, a high percentage of them Hispanic. We will obviously need teachers for these students. This future demand is compounded by the fact that the average age of teachers is steadily increasing which will result in more retirees.
Also, the U.S. Department of Statistics suggests that as many as 9 percent of new teachers quit during their first year of teaching and as many as one out of five teachers leave in the first three years. Classroom-size reduction and full-day kindergarten programs will also require more teachers.
Add to this demand for more teachers that they must be "highly qualified," and we find ourselves looking at a teacher-shortage crisis. This is especially crucial in special education and English-as-a-second-language teachers, as already there aren't enough of them to go around.
Addressing this teacher shortage crisis in general and the Hispanic teacher shortage in particular will require planning and creative thinking. While we are making efforts to recruit and retain more Hispanic teachers, we would be wise to also make sure that our Caucasian teachers are equipped to teach a diverse population.
Making Caucasian teachers feel inadequate to teach Hispanic students and/or making them feel guilty for being white or not speaking Spanish won't close the Hispanic achievement gap.
We, from all ethnic backgrounds, are in this together. It's imperative that all pre-service teachers and in-service teachers, of all ethnic backgrounds, teaching in Utah's schools with a high percentage of "at promise" students have the knowledge, expertise, desire and commitment to work with this population.
Our universities have a tremendous obligation to address this issue and prepare students to meet this challenge and opportunity. School districts need to continue educating administrators and teachers already in the education field. Policymakers must reach out and become informed in order to make wise decisions. The community at large, including businesses, must be committed to doing its part.
R.R. Edmonds said, "We can, whenever and wherever we choose, successfully teach all children whose schooling is of interest to us. We already know more than we need to do that. Whether or not we do it must finally depend on how we feel about the fact that we haven't so far." (Effective Schools for the Urban Poor, Educational Leadership 1979, p.23.)
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* BARBARA LOVEJOY is a Utah educator and advocate for Hispanic youth and executive director of Generación Floreciente.
