An Opportunity for Connection: Community Support for BIPOC Educators Boosts Teacher Retention and Student Success
Introduction:
It Starts with Community
It’s an early Saturday morning at the University of Washington Tacoma campus — educators, and aspiring educators slowly trickle into the bright and welcoming conference room for the first Martinez Fellowship seminar of the year. Groups of colleagues and friends start to gather, the sound of laughter and connection steadily growing. At first glance, it’s clear The Martinez Fellowship is an inclusive space, encouraging individual expression to the fullest. The result? An intentionally curated, diverse, and multifaceted cohort from all across Washington.
“[The Martinez Fellowship is] created by and for BIPOC educators, making it one of the first professional spaces where I feel wholly seen and understood. The fellowship acknowledges nuances and complexities of our shared experiences, creating a supportive environment most other training programs don’t address.”
Teaching is an overwhelmingly white dominated field and high turnover rates among budding teachers continue to climb – particularly around teachers of color. The unfortunate reality is that many BIPOC educators are left to weather this experience alone, isolated from other teachers of color. The Martinez Fellowship strives to bring teachers out of isolation and into community by providing a space to form tight knit support groups. By ensuring more teachers, like Jill, feel empowered and seen, students by extension will feel empowered and seen.
Learn more about the Martinez Fellowship and join the next cohort here.
The Problem:
Student Diversity is Growing, But Growth in Teacher Population is Slowing
The evidence showing the positive impact BIPOC teachers have on academic, behavioral, and emotional development on their students is staggering. However, data from the National Council on Teacher Equality dashboard shows the population of BIPOC teachers entering and remaining in the educational workforce is growing at a much slower rate compared to the steadily increasing population of BIPOC students. The data also shows that despite the amount of college educated, working aged BIPOC adults steadily increasing, those same adults are choosing teaching as a career path less and less.
This begs the question: why? And how do we create an actionable solution? Though there are many reasons why education is becoming less popular among BIPOC professionals, one issue is consistent: the lack of community support tailored to the experience of BIPOC educators, by those who have lived the BIPOC educator experience.
“Speaking as someone who is a minority [when] trying to speak in these primarily white spaces, a lot of times you’ll say something, and someone jumps on right after. It feels like your comment just got overshadowed or that you didn’t feel heard.”
The first year for a teacher is critical to their long-term success, as first year teachers are at the highest risk of turnover. BIPOC educators deal with more isolation, discrimination, and stress stemming from lack of racial awareness and literacy from colleagues, on top of all the typical stressors their white counterparts deal with. This makes BIPOC educators at higher risk of leaving teaching for good.
The Solution:
Bridging the Gap Between Teachers of Color
To break the pattern of siloed educators, the solution The Martinez Fellowship offers is simple: provide opportunities to break the silos. Firstly, by providing a space for teachers of color to feel supported early in their education career and connecting them to other teachers of color.
The Martinez Fellowship has been like gaining another family. I’ve met so many wonderful people through this community — both fellows and program coordinators — I feel like I have people here that know things about me other people haven’t gotten to learn, because of the sacredness of our connections.
Secondly, by educating teachers using a liberatory lens, highlighting how certain systems – including the system of education – uphold white supremacy and settler colonialism. For many, it’s an affirming space, bringing awareness to the fact that what educators of color are feeling and experiencing is collective. By focusing on mindfulness, identity, and workshops that encourage an open dialogue around how systems of oppression manifest within, the intention is to inform the way teachers curate their classroom environment as an advocate for themselves and their BIPOC students.
“Teaching shapes the future by influencing young students’ minds, imparting values and addressing inequalities. Every decision, from the curriculum to the resources we choose, to the way we engage with diverse perspectives, reflects the choices about whose stories, histories, and voices are prioritized.”
The Impact:
Centering the BIPOC Experience Has a Ripple Effect
To date, the Martinez Fellowship has stewarded 16 cohorts, with 80 percent retention among fellows. Increasing the amount of retention in teachers of color directly impacts the success rates of all students – and the data proves it.
Research conducted by David Blazar, assistant professor of education policy and economics at the University of Maryland, found when compared to white teachers, BIPOC educators produce additional positive academic, social-emotional, and behavioral outcomes for all students. Additionally, research published by the National Bureau of Economic Research shows that black students who had one black teacher in grades K-3 were 13 percent more likely to enroll in college. Those who had two black teachers were 32 percent more likely to enroll in college. That’s more than double the likelihood of post-secondary education in black students, simply by introducing an additional black educator at a critical time in their educational career.
In other words, students seeing someone from their community demographic in a mentorship position has a direct correlation to how they adopt a positive mindset around learning. Not just in their educational career, but beyond. Having more teachers from diverse backgrounds, who all lead by example, and show what community safety looks like is an investment in our collective future that compounds exponentially.
The Fellowship brings more than just training. It provides a sense of belonging and validation that strengthens my commitment to teaching. It’s been a space where I can both grow and contribute, knowing that my unique perspective as a BIPOC educator is valued.
