At the start of the 2023/24 school year, a staggering 86 percent of K–12 public schools in the United States had difficulty hiring educators. Educators weren’t applying for vacant positions—and many candidates who did apply lacked the right qualifications. To compound the issue, the current educator workforce in many states does not reflect the student population’s racial, ethnic, and gender diversity. Take Colorado, for example. While 84 percent of educators identified as White in the 2023/24 school year, half of all K–12 students identified as students of color. This disproportionality is concerning because students tend to perform better when exposed to educators who share their racial and ethnic backgrounds.
Colorado is making strides toward improving educator recruitment and retention, particularly for educators of color. A 2022 report from the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) and Colorado Department of Higher Education’s (CDHE) Diversifying the Educator Workforce Workgroup outlined a range of innovative strategies meant to diversify the state’s educator workforce. Among these strategies is Educators Matter, a cornerstone of the CDE’s 2017–24 strategic plan. Educators Matter aims to create high-quality educator preparation programs, establish a robust pipeline of teachers and principals, and deepen supports for principals to boost retention rates. Stipends and other financial opportunities have also been offered by CDE and CDHE to support aspiring and practicing educators.
REL Central’s Teacher Diversity in Colorado partnership, which includes representatives from CDE and CDHE, has been working together to build a more diverse educator workforce across the state. Working with REL Central, the partnership has developed a range of resources and supports, from webinars to collaborative data collection activities, to help the state, human resources staff, and district and school leaders better understand factors affecting educator recruitment and retention.
